Texas Rangers Head to Cleveland: What To Watch For

After picking up a series win against the Blue Jays, the Texas Rangers are headed to Cleveland to face the Indians.

The Rangers were able to pick up a little momentum as well as their first win streak of the season having won three of their last four ball games. Now, they’ll look to build up moving forward against the Cleveland Indians. Texas currently sits at 11-18 on the season while the Indians are 14-12 on the year.

Here’s what to look for in the series.

Monday: 5:10 CT (Cole Hamels v. Trevor Bauer)

Tuesday: 5:10 CT (Doug Fister v. Mike Clevinger)

Wednesday: 12:10 CT (TBD v. Corey Kluber)

Who Will Step Up In The Bullpen?

The inconsistency of the bullpen this season has been no secret. The Rangers will desperately need someone to step up as the leader in the bullpen. Keone Kela is the designated closer for the team and has pitched fairly well to this point picking up 6 saves. However the unit as a whole has not put forth the consistency that they need to continue to win games. With Matt Bush and Jose Leclerc recently optioned to Triple-A, the Rangers are looking for a core unit of relievers that can shut down games on a regular basis. Part of the solution is for relievers to go deeper into games but look to Alex Claudio and Jake Diekman to step up in late inning roles and Keone Kela to continue in the closer role.

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Will Another Hitter Heat Up?

The Rangers have had consistent production from only a couple of players this season, one being the injured Adrian Beltre. Nomar Mazara and Isiah Kiner-Falefa lead the order in batting average at .297 and .273 respectively. Beyond them, nobody in the order is hitting above .250 which is a big problem. Someone else in the order needs to heat up at the plate and help give Texas some more consistency in the lineup. Joey Gallo and Delino DeShields are who I’ll look to for some production in the top half of the order. Delino, coming off an injury, is someone who can create tons of opportunities on the base paths meaning his production is crucial to the teams success. As the power threat in the order, Joey Gallo is the biggest weapon in the Texas lineup however he’ll need to make more consistent contact to help this team trend in the right direction.

Next: Texas Rangers Take Away Series in Toronto: 3 Takeaways

What are you looking forward to in this series? Let us know in the comments below.