The Texas Rangers are making a strong push to make the MLB playoffs, and they bolstered their postseason chances by keeping their winning streak alive on Monday.
After sweeping the Athletics in a three-game series in Sacramento, Texas started another set on Monday with a 7-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Arizona. That was the sixth win in a row for Bruce Bochy's team.
The Rangers managed to beat Arizona despite a short pregame due to changes in their flight to Phoenix. They also had to overcome a three-run deficit in the early goings of the contest. Texas then had to battle back from a two-run disadvantage after just tying the score.
Moreover, the Rangers forced an extra inning after Cody Freeman's RBI single in the ninth frame tied the score at 5-5. Alejandro Osuna delivered a two-run single in the top of the 10th inning and the Rangers' pitching held off Arizona in the bottom of the frame to secure the victory for Texas.
The Rangers are finding ways to win and their relentlessness is producing great results.
“How well they have shown resilience through the tough times [has been impressive],” Bochy said after the game, per Jesse Borek of MLB.com.
“Last night, I've never been through what they had to go through, but we got here. We didn't take batting practice. … Nobody was talking about it, nobody was complaining about it, and they came out and fought hard and had to scratch and claw to get back in it.”
Patrick Corbin started on the mound for the Rangers, allowing five earned runs on five hits (three home runs) in 5 2/3 innings of work. But Texas clawed back with the team's bats coming alive and the Rangers' bullpen shutting down the Diamondbacks the rest of the way.
Through Monday, the Rangers have a 72-67 record. That's good for just third in the American League West, 4.5 games back of the Houston Astros and three behind the Seattle Mariners. However, Texas is only 1.5 games outside of the final Wild Card spot in the AL.
Per FanGraphs, Texas now has a 17.8 percent chance to secure a playoff berth. It's not ideal, but that's way much better than the 4.8 percent chance they had on Aug. 28.
