Texas Rangers manager, Bruce Bochy, leads his club into familiar territory as they take on the San Francisco Giants

The Rangers will be taking on the Giants in a three game, weekend series starting tonight. It will be a homecoming of sorts for Texas manager, Bruce Bochy.

Texas Rangers v Chicago White Sox
Texas Rangers v Chicago White Sox / Michael Reaves/GettyImages

Sometimes it is fun to go back to your roots, and visit places where you used to work, live, and had success. Texas Rangers manager, Bruce Bochy, will have that opportunity this weekend as he leads his club into San Francisco to take on the Giants.

Bochy was the manager for the Giants for 13 seasons, from 2007 to 2019, before he stepped away from the game for a brief retirement. Not only was he the manager of the club for a long period of time, but he led the team during one of the best five year runs in MLB history. Bochy guided the Giants to three World Series crowns in 2010, 2012, and again in 2014. Texas' fans will remember the 2010 title as coming at the expense of the Rangers.

There is little doubt that Bochy will have some strong feelings this weekend as he returns to Oracle Park. However, one thing is for sure, he will be looking to push all of the right buttons to get out of town with a higher winning percentage than the Rangers rolled into town with. This is a critical series for both organizations, as they are fighting for playoff spots, division titles, and seedings.

The Rangers (68-47) enter the series in first place in the AL West, 2.5 games ahead of the Houston Astros. The surging Seattle Mariners are only 5.5 games out of first for the division and currently sit just out of the third wild card spot, 1.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays.

San Francisco (62-53) finds themselves 6.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West but are sitting in the number two wild card spot with a 2.5 game cushion over the Miami Marlins. The Philadelphia Phillies hold the top NL wild card spot at the moment, with a 1.5 game lead over the Giants. Nobody in the NL wild card race can afford to stumble as the Cubs, Reds, D-backs, and even Padres are all lurking just behind the leaders.

Texas Rangers schedule versus the San Francisco Giants

Date and Time

Probable Pitcher Rangers

Probable Pitcher Giants

Fri 11th - 9:15 CT**

Jon Gray RHP 7-5, 3.72 ERA, 95 SO

Scott Alexander LHP 6-2, 4.01 ERA, 18 SO

Sat 12th - 8:05 CT

Andrew Heaney LHP 9-6, 4.14 ERA, 118 SO

Alex Cobb RHP 6-3, 3.30 ERA, 107 SO

Sun 13th - 3:05 CT

Dane Dunning RHP 9-4, 3.21 ERA, 85 SO

Logan Webb RHP 9-9, 3.38 ERA, 151 SO

** Tonight's game will only be televised on Apple TV+.

The Giants started off the season slowly, but thanks to a red hot May and June (35-20), quickly propelled themselves back into the middle of the playoff picture. They have slowed the winning over the last month and a half, as they are 16-17 since July 1st. Their pitching has been the strong suite for the club this year as they boast the eighth best pitching ERA in MLB. They have given up one more run than the Rangers this year, but Texas' high-octane offense has scored 150 more runs than the Giants.

This should be another huge test for the Rangers as they take on two of the best starting pitchers in the game over the weekend, Alex Cobb and Logan Webb. You have to be able to beat some of the best in order to get to the playoffs, and the Rangers will be aiming to do just that, while on the road in San Francisco. Bochy will have a memorable reunion with his former team, but it will be extra special if his Rangers can get a series victory.