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After series wins against the Astros and Angels, the Rangers headed on the road to take on a bad team looking to build on a freshly won .500 record. Sound familiar? The last time that happened the Rangers ended up getting swept by the lowly A’s in Oakland.
With even less room for error, the Rangers know they must avoid falling flat in Atlanta if they want to stay in the Wild Card race. Tonight they got off to a quick start and didn’t leave much room for drama with a pounding of R.A. Dickey and the Braves.
Utilizing seven extra base hits (three home runs, three doubles, one triple), the Rangers never trailed and padded their lead to six runs by the top of the fifth to make the game basically Rangers Bullpen proof.
With the win, the Rangers are once again back above .500 and they also picked up games on the Mariners, Orioles, and Twins in the Wild Card standings. Yes, even after getting swept by the A’s and losing Adrian Beltre, the Rangers are just two games out of a playoff spot again.
Player of the Game: The Rangers have a good thing going right now with Martin Perez and Andrew Cashner. After Perez won his sixth straight yesterday, Cashner opened this series with six innings and just two runs allowed for his ninth win of the year. The Rangers are 7-3 in games started by Cashner since the start of July.
Cashner also almost hit a grand slam but will have to settle for an RBI sac fly.
Up Next: Miguel Gonzalez will make his debut with the Rangers against RHP Julio Teheran in the second game of this series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM CT.