Apr 20, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Nick Tepesch (49) throws to the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

The Rangers are coming off of a three game sweep of the Seattle Mariners which included games started by Nick Tepesch and Justin Grimm. As we all know, Tepesch was hit by a pitch in the second inning of his start, and had to be removed from the game and replaced by Derek Lowe. All of Rangers nation held they’re breath waiting for the epic fail, but Derek came through in a very big way and helped the Rangers get that win. Then Justin Grimm showed all of us why he is a highly touted prospect when he struck out nine in his win against the M’s on Sunday. Now I know the Mariners are not exactly the cream of the crop when it comes to American League teams, but a sweep is a sweep.

Of course our next opponents, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are also coming off of a three game sweep of the Detroit Tigers, a team many expect to win the World Series this year. The Angels offense is finally looking like all of the experts expected it too, that is, crushing the ball on a regular basis. The Angels now lead the league in batting average at .280, but are fifth from last in team ERA at 4.58 (source).

This is what Derek Holland looks like

The Rangers go to Anaheim as the first place team in the West, the Angels sitting in third but moving up quickly. This series in not the end all to the division, since it is still only April, but I see the Rangers having an advantage, and that advantage is pitching. It has been a long time since we could say that the Rangers have the best pitching in the American League West, but right now that is the case. Texas not only has the best record in all of the American League, but they also have the lowest ERA. This in not a coincidence. The Rangers team ERA is an astoundingly low 2.68, and that is without Colby Lewis and now without Matt Harrison. The Angels may have the better offense, but pitching wins games, and pitching wins championships. Without Jered Weaver, their pitching staff becomes much worse, and tonight’s matchup has Derek Holland (1-1, 1.64 ERA) matched up against Joe Blanton (0-3, 8.59 ERA). The Rangers should be able to take advantage of the Angels pitching, and the Angels are going to need some luck or a really bad night by Holland AND the Ranger bull pen to have success tonight. If you have seen any Angels baseball this season, you know that he crowd is not really behind them at all because of how poorly they have started for the second year in a row, so home field advantage is basicly out. Tonight should be a fun game to watch for Rangers fans everywhere.

Now I am not saying the Rangers are going to sweep the series, and we all know that the Rangers have not played as well on the road as they have at home, but the Angels are struggling mightily in the pitching department and the Rangers are not, and that usually means a win for the team with the good pitching (see the Rangers and Angels series from 2001-2008 and see how it went for the team with the better pitching). If any fan base know that you can’t slug your way to a World Series, it is the Rangers fans.The Angels are going to slug their way to a bunch of wins in 2013, don’t misunderstand me there. I just don’t believe that they can do it against this great Texas Rangers pitching. I hope that the Rangers prove me right over the next three late nights.

Coming into Friday, the Rangers were dealt with some disappointing news when the team learned that Matt Harrison will be undergoing back surgery on Tuesday to repair a herniated disc, thusly relegating his return to after the All-Star break. It was an unfortunate blow to the rotation, however it appears that Colby Lewis is continuing to have a successful rehab and is on schedule to return to the team on June 1st. An effective Colby Lewis in the rotation would be huge, so that’s that. Now here are some observations on the Rangers’ sweep of the Mariners.

• In total for the series, the Rangers outscored the Mariners 23 to 3. Regardless of the competition and other factors, it was good to finally see the Rangers’ offense put together some good innings. We’ll see if this ends up carrying over to Anaheim.
• As of Friday, the A’s led the Rangers for 1st place in the AL West by 2.5 games. As of Sunday, the A’s have been swept by the Rays and the Rangers have swept the Mariners, meaning Texas now holds the division lead by 0.5 games.
• In the first game of the series, Yu Darvish got the win against the Mariners, pitching 7 shutout innings and allowing just 3 hits to go along with 10 strikeouts. It was evident early in the game that Darvish had little, if any command of his fastball, which seems to be a trend in all of Darvish’s starts sans the near-perfecto against Houston. It’s pretty remarkable that Darvish possesses such dominating secondary pitches that he is able to pitch deep into ballgames regardless of his fastball command. Interestingly enough, all three of Darvish’s wins this season have come after Ranger losses.
• On Saturday, the Rangers received a scare when Nick Tepesch was hit on the wrist by a line drive off of the bat of Jesús Montero with two outs in the second inning. Luckily enough, Tepesch appears to be ready to make his next start. In relief of Tepesch, whom had to leave the game, Derek Lowe delivered in surprising fashion with four hitless innings. Also, A.J. Pierzynski and David Murphy, whom have both been scuffling as of late, hit homers to support the cause.
• In the finale of the series, Justin Grimm made his second start of the season and delivered mightily, pitching 6 innings, surrendering just 6 hits and allowing just one earned run to go along with 9 strikeouts. Grimm’s curveball was the difference maker in the game, as Grimm exhibited plus command and break with the pitch. In support of Grimm, Leonys Martín hit his first career home run off of Seattle starter, Aaron Harang. As for Harang, he gave up a big home run in the bottom of the fourth to Mitch Moreland, which sailed to Greene’s Hill in center field. Harang later went on to load the bases in the fifth inning only to surrender a grand slam off of the bat of Nelson Cruz. In other words, it was not a good day for Harang.
• Not to pick on the guy or anything, but Justin Smoak had a dreadful series, going just 1-for-11 with 6 strikeouts. I know it’s still early in the season, but I think that any hope of Smoak’s bat finally developing is all but gone.

Oct 24, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Rick Porcello (48) delivers a pitch during the eighth inning of game one of the 2012 World Series against the San Francisco Giants at AT

Prior to his injury, Martín Pérez appeared to be the favorite to win the No. 5 spot in the Texas rotation, but as it stands now, the Rangers’ best options for the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation have come down to Nick Tepesch and Robbie Ross. Ross, whom was the Rangers’ primary LHP out of the bullpen in 2012, would appear to be the odd man out in the battle for the No. 5 spot in the rotation had LHPs Joe Ortiz and Michael Kirkman not displayed such strong Springs.

Colby Lewis, who missed the majority of the 2012 season due to a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow, appears to be ready to return the Rangers in mid-to-late May and would ideally slide into the No. 5 spot in the rotation, thusly bumping either Tepesch or Ross from the role, but there are obvious questions regarding how effective Lewis will be after rehabilitation, which is evidently giving the Rangers some reason to evaluate external options to fill out the rotation, which is where Rick Porcello enters the equation.

Based on WAR, Porcello is coming off of his strongest season to date. The young righty posted 2.9 WAR with a FIP of 3.91 in 176.1 innings in 2012. Porcello’s 2012 ERA of 4.59 is obviously not awe-inspiring, but don’t forget to take into account the Tigers’ weak infield defense. Porcello is a groundball pitcher and given the discrepancy between Porcello’s FIP and his ERA, it is evident that the Tigers’ weak infield defense is to blame. The Rangers on the other hand have one of the stronger infield defenses in all of baseball. So with Porcello pitching in front of a strong infield defense like the one in Texas, his ERA would correspondingly correlate more to his FIP, making Porcello a very solid No. 3 starter on a playoff team, with room to improve, given that he’s still only 24.

Rick Porcello is obviously a good fit for the Rangers, given his propensity to get groundballs, but what exactly would the Tigers want for him?

Rumors seem to indicate that the Tigers have interest in the Rangers’ Leury Garcia and Nick Tepesch, but I would think that the Tigers would want another prospect in order to agree to a deal. Perhaps a 3-player plackage centered around Luis Sardinas gets a deal done, and if that is the case, it would be a very solid deal on both sides. The Rangers would be acquiring a young and durable groundball pitcher and the Tigers would be acquiring a defensive whiz shortstop in Sardinas, to replace Jhonny Peralta.

Rick Porcello would provide the Rangers with a durable No. 3-4 starter, which sounds decent, until one actually realizes how rare a commodity that true No. 3 starters are in baseball. So there is obvious motivation for the Rangers to attempt to swing a deal, especially given the uncertainty at the bottom of the Rangers’ rotation, and as with any trade rumors, most of this conjecture depends on the Tigers’ asking price, but the Rangers are an ideal fit for Porcello’s services and the Rangers also seem to match up pretty well with the Tigers as trade partners, given the Rangers’ strong middle-infield depth, so only time will tell.