Thoughts on a 6-3 Rangers win

Rangers 6, Blue Jays 3

• And that’s four in a row for Your Texas Rangers.
• This game was a throwback to much earlier in the year. The Rangers started a multiple Cy Young Award winner, who came to Texas from the New York Mets, and who shut down the opposing team before having to leave the game because of a physical issue that we hope is minor, with the bullpen doing a less than tremendous job behind him, but things work out because the offense puts up runs.
• Max Scherzer was cruising before what we later learned was muscle spasms with his triceps knocked him out of the game. He wasn’t blowing batters away — he struck out just two batters, and generated 7 swings and misses in 72 pitches — but he allowed just three hits and one walk before he had to leave the game with one out in the sixth.
• Jose Leclerc got the final two outs in the sixth, started the seventh, turned things over to Brock Burke with one on and one out, saw Burke retire just one of three batters he faced while two runs scored before turning things over to Chris Stratton. Stratton finished the seventh, handled the eighth, and then we had Aroldis Chapman for the ninth. He allowed a solo homer, but the Rangers were up nine, so who cares.
• After I noted on Twitter that Robbie Grossman hitting third in the lineup illustrated the need for Josh Jung and Adolis Garcia to return, Grossman hit a two run homer to put Texas on the board. So he showed me.
• Corey Seager had a single and a couple of doubles and an intentional walk and I think he may be kind of good.
• Halfway through this four game road series, the Rangers will have at least a split. That’s important because a split of this series would give the Rangers a winning record on the season against the Blue Jays. And that’s important because that gives the Rangers the advantage in a tiebreaker for playoff seeding (or a playoff berth) against the Jays, should they end the year with the same record.
• This win puts the Rangers at WC2 now, a half game ahead of Toronto. Houston lost to the A’s — their second straight loss at home against Oakland — so Texas is now just a game back in the division. Seattle is beating the Angels as I type this, and if that’s holds, Seattle will be tied with Toronto, a half game back of Texas.
• Max Scherzer and Jose Leclerc each topped out at 96.1 mph on his fastball. Brock Burke touched 95.8 mph with his fastball. Chris Stratton hit 94.0 mph with his fastball. Aroldis Chapman’s fastball maxed out at 100.4 mph.
• Nathaniel Lowe had a 106.9 mph ground out. Josh Smith had a 103.9 mph double.
• Warm fuzzies to all y’all.