Thoughts on a 4-2 Rangers win

Rangers 4, Angels 2

• Not a sweep, but the Rangers did take 3 of 4 at home from Anaheim with today’s win, continuing a stretch of three weeks or so where the team has played fairly well.
• And of course, the Rangers won this one behind the stalwart pitching of Yovani Gallardo, Matt Moore, Cory Gearrin and Jose Leclerc. Leclerc doesn’t really deserve to be lumped in with the other three, given that he was a well-regarded relief prospect who was solid in 2016 and 2017 (albeit with a spate of wildness late in 2017 that banished him from the Tree of Trust) before a breakout 2018. He’s established himself as a really good reliever.
• Gallardo, however, was signed to a minor league deal after being released by both the Brewers and the Reds early on, and was brought up because...well, because the Rangers needed someone to start and he was a warm body. With 6 innings of 2 run ball, with 6 hits allowed, 6 Ks and a walk, Gallardo lowered his ERA on the season to 5.10, and continued to be a functional, serviceable starting pitcher on a team that’s needed one. I’m actually wondering if Gallardo might get dealt this month, with a team looking for a cheap veteran depth starter for the final month giving up something of nominal value — think Ti’Quan Forbes for Miguel Gonzalez — to acquire him. That’s not something I expected to be contemplating a couple of months ago.
• As for Moore and Gearrin, they were both given away by the Giants. Moore’s struggles, of course, were one of the reasons the Rangers needed to bring Gallardo up in the first place, but he’s shown some signs of late he might have a future as a middle reliever. As for Gearrin, his ERA as a Ranger is now down to 2.60, and so maybe he’s a reverse San Dyson situation with these two teams.
• As far as the offense goes, every starter had a hit except for Joey Gallo, and Joey had two walks, which I will take from him. The real damage was done at the top of the order, however, with Shin-Soo Choo going 3 for 4, and Rougned Odor driving home all four runs — the first on a 1st inning RBI single that brought home Choo, and the other three on a seventh inning three run homer as the rain started to really pour, prompting another rain delay.
• Its remarkable how, in the course of a couple of months, Odor has gone from being perceived as a millstone who should be given away to clear playing time for others to being one of the best players on the team and, once again, a key part of the core.
• Off to the Bay Area now for six games, three against Oakland and three against San Francisco. It’s still unknown who might be pitching in Oakland, though it sounds like Bartolo Colon, scratched from today’s start with a stiff back, hopes to pitch tomorrow, and Mike Minor might pitch one of the other games.