The Rangers look to finish off a sweep against a team that they could matchup against during postseason play.
Minnesota Twins at Texas Rangers
Minnesota still leads the AL Central division by 3 1/2 games despite being in a position of getting swept for the first time since dropping three straight at Milwaukee from June 22-24. It’s the first time that the Twins have lost three straight games since July 7-10 when the club lost four in a row. The Twins had won 21 of 27 before arriving in Arlington, but the offense has managed to produce just six runs in this series. “We were swinging good coming into this series, but they’ve pretty much shut us down,” said Jason Kubel. The three losses to the Rangers in this series has now dropped the team a half-game behind them in the standings, which would be important in establishing home-field advantage in the playoffs. The club is still 14-8 in August (+510) and come in with a 25-18 mark against left-handed starters (+540). The Twins have also posted a .273 batting average against southpaws this season, which is the second highest average in the AL.
Texas missed out on having an opportunity to possibly sweep the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, dropping a 3-2 decision in 11 innings last night. “That was a well-played game,” third baseman Michael Young said. The club is 5-9 in July (-1,360) and has lost 10 of the last 16 games beginning on June 29. The Rangers total is also 5-9 O/U this month, with the team averaging just 4.1 runs over the past seven games. Texas is 8-16 versus AL East clubs this season, dropping six of the last eight. Ironically enough, the team is 3-9 on the road against the East clubs, with all wins coming at Fenway Park. The Rangers have dropped 11 of 14 road games against the division since September 5, 2009. Offensively, outfielder Josh Hamilton remains hot in going 12-for-27 (.444) in his last seven games and is hitting an MLB-best .429 in 40 games since June 1. During his hot streak, the Rangers lead the Majors with a 13-5 record away from Arlington.
