The Texas Rangers have wrapped the month of July. However, it was yet another month of disappointment and little success. At this point, it’s safe to say that a playoff berth is no longer a possibility.
A mediocre 8-16 record in July leaves the Texas Rangers buried in the American League West standings. The Rangers had numerous chances to get the job done but they just could not do it.
Although a potential playoff spot is may officially be out of reach there’s still one thing the Rangers can play for; Pride. The Rangers have no reason to stop trying. No reason to quit. The Rangers can’t afford to let frustrations get the better of them.
Despite the disappointment and frustration, the Rangers found a way to sweep the Houston Astros in Houston, possibly indicating that they know that pride is all they have left and they want it. The Rangers truly needed to win that series after an awful and humiliating series against the Oakland Athletics. The Rangers managed to win only one series in July.
The key members of the offense struggled as the team struggled. Adrian Beltre posted a .571 OPS for the month with a horrific 2/20 BB/K rate. Joey Gallo hit the ball out of the park when he did hit it, but a .159 batting average shows how infrequent that was. Ronald Guzman posted a 3/23 BB/K ratio on the month. However, Delino DeShields had the worst month of the bunch, with a poor .096/.203/.135 month for an incredibly putrid .338 OPS month.
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There were offensive bright spots on the month. Shin-Soo Choo and Jurickson Profar continued their steady seasons with quality July production. Rougned Odor went off on the month, hitting .357/.427/.655 with 6 home runs and 6 stolen bases on the month, really his first solid month on the entire season.
The pitching wasn’t much better, but with the moves on the month, roles changed enough that individual looks aren’t going to be the most productive.
But with July over, the Rangers need to focus on August. They need to win as many games as possible because they need to finish the season with their heads high. It’s now their last chance to get their act together and step on the field and play effectively.
On Thursday, the Rangers will open a four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles. There are two months of baseball remaining and it’s time for the Rangers to make the most of it. In other words, they need to win and to keep on winning.