Thoughts on a 6-1 Rangers win

Rangers 6, A’s 1

• That almost looked easy, didn’t it?
• Max Scherzer cruised through the Oakland lineup. He didn’t give up a hit until the top of the fourth, when he gave up a leadoff homer to J.J. Bleday. He allowed just three hits and two walks in seven innings of work, with only one other baserunner getting past first base.
• And he needed just 89 pitches to do it. It’s the type of performance that the Rangers were hoping to get when they traded for Scherzer.
• Brock Burke finished things off with two easy innings, needing just 16 pitches to get through the eighth and the ninth.
• The bats, meanwhile, mashed. 13 hits, four walks. Eight extra base hits, including a homer. If there’s a knock on the Rangers offense from this game, it’s that they should have scored more than six runs under the circumstances.
• Which would have been nice, but not necessary, given the work Scherzer and Burke did in suffocating the Oakland bats.
• I continue to marvel at Corey Seager. He’s missed time with a hamstring issue, he’s missed time with a sprained thumb, and he’s still dealing with “flare ups” with the thumb issue, per Bruce Bochy. And he went out there against Oakland and had three hits, was a triple short of the cycle, hit yet another home run.
• Marcus Semien had a couple of hits. Second Half Nathaniel Lowe keeps on Second Half Nathaniel Lowe-ing, with a couple more doubles. Sam Huff chipped in with a couple of hits. Even Robbie Grossman had a pair of doubles.
• This team is clicking again. This team looks like the team that was tearing it up earlier in the year. And it is a joy to watch.
• Max Scherzer topped out at 95.9 mph on his fastball, averaging 93.7 mph. Brock Burke hit 95.1 mph.
• Nathaniel Lowe had doubles at 108.8 mph and 101.8 mph. Mitch Garver had a 106.7 mph grounder that went for a double play. Sam Huff had a 104.5 mph double. Robbie Grossman had doubles at 103.6 mph and 102.3 mph. Corey Seager had a 102.3 mph exit velocity on both a homer and a double. Leody Taveras had a 101.8 mph triple and a 101.3 mph ground out. Marcus Semien had a 100.8 mph single. Adolis Garcia had a 100.5 mph fly out.
• Three games up in the West. An opportunity Wednesday for a sweep and a nine game winning streak. This is fun.