Rangers infielder makes surprising admission about playoff chase

The Texas Rangers are on one heck of a hot streak. That streak included a sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers, the team with the best record in baseball. In the process of getting back into the playoff race, more than a few players have commented on the vibes in the clubhouse. Utility specialist Josh Smith is the latest to make it clear that the Rangers have gotten back into the race in part because the attitude around the team has ramped up considerably.

Smith appeared on the Foul Territory Podcast, where he talked about how things have changed in the last few weeks, especially. The vibes and attitude have definitely changed, and the Rangers are even surprising themselves with how quickly they've gotten into things. They now sit just one game behind the last Wild Card spot and just 2.5 games back in the AL West.

Texas Rangers vibes leading to playoff surge

"If you had told me two weeks ago we would be a game out," Smith said. "I'd have been like, I don't know, you're kind of overthinking it there. But, yeah, I mean, we've – Dude, we've just kind of gotten hot at the right time."

Smith also pointed out that the team has managed to do this despite injuries that keep piling up.

"We're playing with so many guys down, Seager, Simeon, Ivo, all those guys. I don't know. I just feel like we're playing with nothing to lose, really, is what it feels like. I mean, we're obviously in a wild-card race, but in my opinion, we're kind of in the division, too."

If there's one thing that's unfortunate about this week, it's been that the Texas Rangers haven't been able to make up much ground with the sweep as the Astros and Mariners have both kept winning as well. That means the team's new vibes need to keep rolling along.