Texas Rangers June 20 Week in Review: Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

Jun 19, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Mitch  Moreland (18) hits a two run single against the Chicago White Sox in the ninth inning at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Rangers have continued their strong play as they continue to catch up to the Houston Astros. The Rangers are just 2.5 games behind the Astros, 2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels, 6 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners, and 9 games ahead of the Oakland Athletics. There was not much movement this week in the division as the Seattle Mariners were the only team not to win 6 of their last 10 games, having won 5 of 10, and the Rangers remain just 0.5 games behind for a Wild Card spot.

The team won five of their seven games this week, with the a loss coming to the Minnesota Twins and a 0-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers that ended on a balk in the ninth. More impressively, the Rangers won two out of three during their Three Aces in Three Days stretch. They picked up the win against Clayton Kershaw, a loss to Zack Greinke that ended with the balk, and a win last night over Chris Sale. Even though Sale looked great against the Rangers, the team Never Ever Quit and came up with two runs in the ninth off a Mitch Moreland hit as seen in the picture above.

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Looking ahead to the week, the Rangers will finish the series against the Chicago White Sox, come home for a series against the Oakland Athletics, then will end the week by travelling north of the border for a series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The series everyone is looking forward to against the Houston Astros is still a bit away, as Rangers won’t travel to Houston until July 17th for the first series after the All-Star Break.

So, which players were a crucial part of the Texas Rangers success last week? Which players struggled, as the Rangers were able to overcome their issues and win anyway? Let’s take a look back at the week that was for the Rangers, as we see which players were hot, and which were not.

Let us begin with those who struggled last week.

Next: Martin Slows