Texas Rangers schedule: Ranking the five best day games at home in 2021

Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays

No need to rehash history, we know there’s some bad blood between these two franchises, especially in the postseason.

Former Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista may no longer play in MLB anymore, but Rougned Odor does, and he won’t soon forget their epic brawl in 2016 coming off high tensions from the 2015 postseason.

The two teams met again in the 2016 postseason, with Toronto holding the upper hand for a second consecutive year.

Commissioner Rob Manfred wants high ratings during Opening Week, so why not pit two teams with this kind of history against each other to kick off the season?

The Blue Jays are expected to be contenders in the American League in 2021 after making the playoffs in 2020, while the Rangers are expected to finish near the bottom of the pack.

Still, though, this is Texas’ home opener to begin the 2021 season, and with two day games in the opening series, it would be hard to omit the Toronto Blue Jays from this list.

Texas Rangers vs. San Diego Padres

Fernando Tatis Jr. broke the unwritten rules of baseball against the Texas Rangers last season, hitting a grand slam on a 3-0 count and raising eyebrows among many in the baseball community.

We’re not sure if the team has fully recovered from this incident, but one thing we do know is that the Padres will be returning to Globe Life Field in 2020 as an interleague opponent.

San Diego has made massive upgrades to their roster this off-season, acquiring LHP Blake Snell (who returns to the scene of 2020 World Series game six crime in a new uniform), RHP Yu Darvish and signing Korean INF Ha-seong Kim.

The middle name above might sound familiar to Texas Rangers fans, as Darvish began his MLB career with the team before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017 and signing with the Chicago Cubs in free agency prior to 2018.

Darvish has yet to set foot in newly minted Globe Life Field, but will likely do so when his San Diego Padres come to town to close out the first Texas Rangers’ homestand of 2021.

Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are always a hot ticket in town, regardless of the year.

That doesn’t look to change in 2021 and the Texas Rangers will welcome the Bronx Bombers to Arlington for four games in May, including a day matchup in the series finale to close out their visit.

The Yankees have been a dominant force in the American League the last few seasons, but have come up short of their goal of winning a World Series. In fact, they haven’t even won an AL pennant since 2009, let alone a championship.

The Rangers won’t offer much resistance to the Yankees and their firepower, led by pitching staff ace Gerrit Cole and slugging outfielder Aaron Judge, but the Bronx Bombers are notoriously hated across baseball and always seem to draw big crowds on the road.

Texas Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are well-accustomed to the Globe Life Field digs, having called it home for six games during the 2020 World Series, which they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Outfielder Randy Arozarena had a torrid postseason run that continued in this ballpark, as did a crazy play at the end of 2020 World Series game five with Brett Phillips’ improbable game winning RBI single to extend the series by another game.

So yeah, the Rays are pretty familiar with this place. And they’ll be back in 2021, but this time to play the team who actually calls Globe Life Field home on a regular basis.

Tampa Bay won’t be quite the same juggernaut they were when they clinched their first AL pennant since 2008 last season, but anytime a defending champion comes to town, you’re likely paying a little extra attention.

With two day games in this three game June series, the Rangers will surely have their hands full.

Texas Rangers vs. Chicago White Sox

They say to save the best for last, right?

Well, it appears the MLB schedule makers took that to heart when devising the Rangers’ 2021 season, as the Chicago White Sox come to town in mid-September for three games, including a matinee on the final game of the series.

The South Siders have surely done their part to upgrade a roster that is widely expected to win the AL Central division in 2021, and possibly more.

Most notably for the Rangers, however, will be the return of Lance Lynn to Globe Life Field in this series.

Lynn was traded to the White Sox this off-season for Dane Dunning (could we potentially see a Dunning vs. Lynn matchup here??) and minor league lefty Avery Weems as Texas really began their rebuild in earnest.

Chicago is looking to accomplish big things this season, and while the Rangers’ season may be over by mid-September, the storyline of Lance Lynn’s return will surely add some juice to things down the grueling stretch.

Honorable Mentions:

Vs. the whole AL West, really.