Texas Rangers set to take on 2 of MLB’s most hated teams

As a Texas Rangers fan, you probably had this portion of the 2021 schedule circled on the calendar.

After all, aren’t the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, two of the AL’s best teams in recent years (unfortunately) worthy of your attention?

Regardless of our hatred for these two evil empires, the big game appeal is not to be ignored as the Texas Rangers will finally get to flash their clutch and scrappy chops against some of the best this game has to offer.

First, the initial installment of the 2021 Lone Star Series is set to begin Thursday in Houston. The Rangers and Astros met 10 times in the 60 game season in 2020, with the two teams splitting the contests at five a piece.

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Overall, the Rangers have dominated the Lone Star Series since its inception in 2001, with Texas leading 120-95 over the hated Astros.

The Rangers are also riding a three-game win streak over Houston at the moment, so… there’s that too!

We’ll always hate the Astros for what they did to disrupt the integrity of the game by stealing signs and banging trash cans en route to their 2017 “World Series Championship”. And these Texas Rangers are better than Texas teams of years past.

Expect a competitive series.

The Astros also visit Globe Life Field at the end of next week, book-ending the New York Yankees in between.

The Texas Rangers have a defining stretch of games coming up against the Astros and Yankees

Texas has not seen the Yankees since September 2019, but they’ve done some business together, most notably earlier this year when the Rangers dealt Rougned Odor to New York in March.

Notable in this series will be the absence of known Yankees killer Ronald Guzman, who is unfortunately out for the remainder of this season with a meniscus tear in his right knee.

Regardless, the stakes are always higher when the Yankees come to town.

The Bronx Bombers’ visit to Globe Life Field will also be their first ever.

As a whole, this impending stretch of games will really give the Texas Rangers a chance to prove their worthiness and resilience. They’ve been impressive against teams like the Rays, Angels, Red Sox and Mariners, but it can never hurt to make some noise against teams like the Yankees and Astros and their built-up fan bases as well as their increased media attention.

It’s time to make the most of the opportunity.