Nolan Writin'
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The Cowboys couldn’t beat Tampa Bay, but the Texas Rangers did

By Seth Carlson|
Apr 13, 2021; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garc’a (53) and catcher Jose Trevino (23) and first baseman Nate Lowe (facing camera) react after scoring against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fourth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 13, 2021; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garc’a (53) and catcher Jose Trevino (23) and first baseman Nate Lowe (facing camera) react after scoring against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fourth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

It was so nice of the Texas Rangers to have an off day Thursday so that we could watch the Dallas Cowboys face the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2021 NFL Kickoff game.

Unfortunately for DFW-area sports fans, Nick Solak’s favorite player (Dak Prescott) and the  Cowboys couldn’t pull through with an upset over the Bucs, losing in a close and exciting 31-29 contest.

But where the Cowboys fell short, the Texas Rangers came up big. Well, kind of.

In games against Tampa Bay this season, Jerry Jones’ boys are 0-1, while Chris Woodward’s squad is 4-3.

The Texas Rangers were able to beat the Tampa Bay Rays in their season series while the Dallas Cowboys stumbled against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Now, does this stat really matter? No, not really. But I think most people would say the Dallas Cowboys are in a better position in the NFL then the Texas Rangers are in MLB. One is a playoff hopeful this season while the other is in the midst of a full-blown rebuild and angling for high draft positioning.

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And yet the retooling Rangers handled the defending AL champion Tampa Bay Rays decently well in 2021, holding a one-game advantage in their season series. The series at Tropicana Field back in April, infamous for Ronald Guzman’s devastating knee injury and also marking the debut of rookie sensation Adolis Garcia, was plenty eventful.

Even the series between the Rangers and Rays in Arlington back in June was fun to watch.

Oh yeah, and Kyle Gibson, Ian Kennedy and Joey Gallo were all wearing Texas uniforms. Feels like a completely different era!

Both teams did show fight in their respective game/series against their Tampa Bay rivals, though. And that has to count for something.

But give the Texas Rangers credit for this, if nothing else: they handled their business against a defending champion Tampa Bay team, while the Dallas Cowboys didn’t.

It’s the little things, sometimes.

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