Rangers should be thrilled to be where they are after daunting first stretch of games

There was a lot of talk going into the season about how daunting the first 22-game stretch would be for the Texas Rangers.

Over the first three-plus weeks, they would face many obstacles that would test whether the newly crafted roster would be competitive under first-year manager Skip Schumaker. It could very well be the litmus test for what kind of club Rangers' fans would expect this season.

So far, at 10-9 and sharing a piece of the AL West lead, the level-headed part of the fanbase should be more than content with the team's performance thus far.

Rangers are handling themselves in tough opening month

Over the first 25 days of the schedule, the Rangers were scheduled to play 16 of their first 22 games on the road. Twelve of them would be against playoff teams from last season.

After they make the swing through Seattle, they will have faced some of the top arms in the league, including Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Logan Gilbert (twice), George Kirby (twice) and Bryan Woo (twice).

Yes, there are still three games left in the gauntlet, but through 19 games, the Rangers have been competitive in every game this season and could just as easily be 13-6, despite someinconsistency from the bullpen.

Getting back home around .500 bodes well for the rest of the season

The best-case scenario for the Rangers after the three games against the Mariners is a sweep and returning to Arlington at 13-9. Worst case, they get swept and are still just two games under .500 at 10-12.

With Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and MacKenzie Gore scheduled to square off against the Mariners' best three hurlers, a sweep for either team is highly unlikely.

Once home, the schedule gets a little more favorable as the Rangers will take on the surprising first-place Pirates, another duel with the Athletics and the struggling but dangerous Yankees.

Outside of Max Fried, none of the starters scheduled to take the hill at Globe Life Field look as tough as what the Rangers will have already seen.

It would be great if the Rangers won two out of three in Seattle and came home above .500, but this team has looked super-competitive under Schumaker and it portends well for the rest of the season.

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