Texas Rangers: Could The Offense Carry Them to The Postseason?

After the July 31 trade deadline everyone was just about ready to throw in the towel for 2017. Since then the Rangers have been one of the hottest teams in baseball and are now less than two games away from a Wild Card. Can the red-hot bats carry this team into the postseason?

After an important opening win against the White Sox it has become clear the Texas Rangers want to see the postseason in 2017. The Rangers sit at 60-60 and 1.5 games out of the Wild Card as of Friday.

The biggest reason why the Rangers are still in it has been the offense. The Rangers are second in the MLB behind the Astros with 188 home runs this season. That’s not all, the Rangers are fifth in the MLB, and third in the AL in runs batted in with 573.

The offense is led by veterans Elvis Andrus and Adrian Beltre. Entering Friday Andrus is hitting .298 with 16 home runs and 64 RBI with 20 stolen bases in 116 games. The career high 16 long balls has been surprising, but also been a huge factor at the top of the lineup.

The Sophomore sluggers in Nomar Mazara and Joey Gallo have given this team an enormous lift. The organization wasn’t exactly sure what they’d get from these guys in 2017, but they have exceeded expectations.

The 2017 season is technically Gallo’s third season in the MLB, but he played just 17 games last season. Well, third time is definitely the charm as Gallo is hitting .209 with 35 home runs and 65 RBI in 110 games.

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It’s true Gallo has been an absolute home run machine this season. Mazara has been just as strong and has been the core of this offense the last couple weeks. In his last 19 games Mazara has 25 RBI, and just can’t be stopped at the plate.

As shown by the stat line, the Rangers are getting help from just about everyone in the batting order. The starting rotation and bullpen have struggled at times, but the offense has been the key. The pitching rotation has done better than expected and keeps Texas in the game.

The bullpen was one of the main reasons Texas was falling out of the race in the first half of the season. Manager Jeff Banister has pieced together a fantastic bullpen that has been indestructible lately. The second half of the season this Rangers bullpen has been reliable and shows no signs of breaking whatsoever.

Next: 3 Rangers That Could Get Better in 2018

If the Rangers hitters can avoid injuries and major slumps this team will be hard to beat. It has been one of the best offenses in baseball all season, and has a good chance of carrying this organization straight into the postseason.

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