Texas Rangers: Seven standouts from the 2020 schedule
By Travis Koch
2. An inconsiderate September
Contrary to a friendly July, Texas will endure a gruesome September. Of their 26 September games, 15 will be against above .500 clubs from a year ago, and 16 will be on the road.
Only two of their 20 interleague games will take place in September, those occurring in Arizona vs. the Diamondbacks. That leaves 26 divisional bouts that will very likely make or break the Rangers’ season.
It’s also worth noting that the last week of August includes four matchups with the Oakland Athletics and three matchups with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Texas better take advantage of the first four weeks of their schedule, because the going gets tough from thereon out.
3. That’s a lot of travel, comparatively
The Texas Rangers drew the short end of the stick regarding travel. They and the Astros will spend considerably more time in the air than any other MLB club.
According to team insider Evan Grant, the Rangers will travel 14,706 miles throughout the season, which edges the Astros’ distance of 13,954 miles.
According to research from MLB advanced media, the Rangers will travel the most air miles in the league this year: 14,706. ... Houston has second most 13,954.
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) July 6, 2020
Of course, they are accustomed to West Coast swings, and it’s hard to imagine player exhaustion will reach anywhere near the levels of a typical 162-game schedule.
I found this illustration very revealing…
Breaking down every @mlb teams updated 2020 travel schedule... Pretty cool looking at the divisional separation of the schedule this way. pic.twitter.com/ht2Bg3qBnj
— Daren Willman (@darenw) July 6, 2020
4. KEEP OUT of Oakland
Texas will visit the Oakland Athletics only once. It will be a three-game series in the first week of August. That’s encouraging, as the Rangers play historically poorly in the A’s stadium, which is now called RingCentral Coliseum.
They went 3-7 at Oakland in 2019 and 2018, and 1-8 in 2017. The Rangers pinned a .500 record (5-5) there in 2016, a year in which they tallied 95 wins. It’s been since 2015 that they’ve accomplished a winning record in Oakland.
Venue aside, the Athletics are already tough enough to defeat. Many experts believe they will push the Astros for the division this season, and perhaps make a run at the World Series. Thus, the Rangers could use the favor of hosting the A’s seven out of ten times this go around.