Will the Texas Rangers ever lose again?
Odds say yes, although they鈥檝e . The Rangers have posted seven wins in seven postseason games, eliminating the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles in the process. Now, they鈥檙e trying to do the same to the Houston Astros.
The Astros have of their best-of-seven series 鈥� the first all-Texas postseason series 鈥� with the Rangers, with a trip to the World Series on the line.
, Rangers reporter for the , said there鈥檚 absolutely a chance for the Astros to come back 鈥� but that the Rangers are playing really good baseball 鈥渙n just about every level.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檙e turning soft hits into singles and runs. They鈥檙e creating extra bases. Their defense has been spectacular,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd listen, one thing you haven鈥檛 been able to say about the Rangers, really in 50+ years 鈥� particularly in the playoffs when they鈥檝e been here 鈥� is their pitching has just been absolutely fantastic. The starting pitching has has really set the tone, and they鈥檝e held the best offenses in the American League in check really now for seven consecutive games.鈥�
Grant said the Rangers鈥� success this postseason can also be attributed to having players back from injury, as well as bringing up rookie Evan Carter, who has been phenomenal.
鈥淭his team had six players who played in the All-Star Game, and five of them ended up on the injured list at some point in time. So really in the second half, when this club started to struggle a little bit and lost a little bit of momentum, they never had their full team on the diamond,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to like get a new dimension to your offense as you get into October, but that鈥檚 kind of what the Rangers have pulled off.鈥�
Grant said Dallas and Houston have always had clashes, particularly over sports.
鈥淚 think there is reason on the baseball side for these two teams to not like each other, going back to 60 years ago when the Astros came into being and Judge Roy Hofheinz in Houston was very protective of trying to keep Dallas from getting a franchise 鈥� and was successful for 10 years in doing that,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he Astros had a little bit more initial success than the Rangers; the Rangers have caught up.
And while there have been a couple of high-emotion incidents between the teams over the years, the rivalry primarily exists with the fans, Grant said.
鈥淎nd that鈥檚 what makes a rivalry. You know, it鈥檚 not about whether or not the players hate each other,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he players come and go; they鈥檝e played with other guys on other teams. But it鈥檚 the fanbases.鈥�
is Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Arlington.
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