Texas Rangers: Cole Hamels to start on Opening Day
The Texas Rangers have announced who will step on the mound on Opening Day against the Houston Astros. For them to select Cole Hamels is honestly no surprise as he’s their most experienced and successful pitcher.
Justin Verlander will be taking the mound for Houston. We can expect the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers to put on a show on Opening Day. Both teams are on a mission. Houston is defending their World Series title, and the Rangers are looking to rectify their season of mediocrity last year.
Congrats, @ColeHamels! You get the ⚾️ on #RangersOpeningDay. pic.twitter.com/ST54S8QW6D
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) March 16, 2018
Hamels only stared 24 games last season, which is the least since his rookie year when he started 23. He did miss some time due to injury. He managed to finish with an 11-6 record with a 4.20 ERA.
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Hamels’ start on Opening Day is the fourth of his career and the second with the Rangers. The Rangers are seriously hoping for Hamels to stay healthy.
Hamels is going to be in for a challenge. Perhaps a challenge is an understatement because Houston’s batting lineup is absolutely phenomenal. In other words, Hamels’ start is not going to be easy, but then again, it’s not supposed to be. It’s always supposed to be a challenge.
The key to victory for the Rangers is to find a way to shut down Houston’s potent lineup. If Hamels can pull off a miracle and strike out Houston’s batting line up. For Hamels, it’s plain and simple; he just needs to find a way to shut down Houston.
However, Hamels can’t do it all on his own. He’s going to need support from the Rangers’ batting lineup to help get the job done. The Rangers are going to have to hit some balls and score some runs.
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In other words, they’re going to have to work as a team if they’re going to find a way to beat the defending World Series Champions.