The Texas Rangers are coming off an awful road trip. They were swept by the Philadelphia Phillies and lost two out of three to the Minnesota Twins, unequivocally showing that they've shown no improvement. Injuries and inconsistency have played major roles. As summer closes in, the Rangers' title defense doesn't look like it'll end well.
On a somewhat positive note, they are on a three-game winning streak and are still in second place in the American League West standings. Texas swept Arizona at home in Arlington but is at least three games behind the first-place Seattle Mariners.
Sweeping Arizona is a bit of a relief for the struggling Rangers, but considering Arizona isn't an excellent team, this is nothing to go on for Texas. While turning a six-game losing streak into a three-game winning streak is fine, the Rangers need to do more than that to dig themselves out of their current predicament. In addition, beating lowly and struggling teams isn't convincing, as Texas needs to win against teams with winning records.
Texas is to briefly get back on the road for a three-game series against the Miami Marlins. After that, they'll play six games in Arlington, three against the Detroit Tigers and three against the San Francisco Giants. If Texas can figure out ways to win each of these series, they'll be on the right track before hitting the road again for a three-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, followed by a three-game series in Seattle.
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