Time once again for the Texas Rangers Weekly Roundup. It was a disappointing week for the team. The week saw them lose 2 of 3 at home to the Angels and 2 of 3 on the road to the Mariners. The week also ended poorly as the Rangers blew a 5 run lead to the Mariners on Sunday to lose the series. Their record stands at 5-8 overall and they are 2 games behind the Astros for first place in the AL West. Thankfully for them and everyone else in the division no one has gotten off to a hot start like the Tigers have. If the Rangers can just survive this tough stretch and keep picking up games they should be able to stay in the race.

Top 5 Most Valuable Players of the Week

1.  Prince Fielder. He still lacks power, but one has to think that it will come eventually. The one thing he is doing is racking up hits. He is doing it with men on base and without men on base. This last week saw him hit for a .368 BA, .850 OPS, and 2 RBI’s. The Rangers after Saturday night’s game against King Felix the team was hitting a league low .201. The only thing keeping them above the mendoza line is Prince Fielder and his .368 BA. One of things I did notice as well in both series was that neither team employed much of a shift on Fielder. That allowed him to be able to get some hits where normally a second baseman or shortstop would be. He has gotten rid of that shift by showing a willingness to hit it to all fields. If he can supply power with this average then he might be able to have a really great season.
2.  Robinson Chirinos. This may come just on the basis of one game, but that one game was really good. On Tuesday night against the Angels his bat finally came alive. He came into the game 1-13. He left the game with 5 rbi’s, courtesy of a two run double and a 3 run home run. He followed that up on Friday with a solo home run that got the Rangers on the board and helped them to a 3-1 win. He played a big part in helping the Rangers get both wins on the week. Overall for the week he hit .364, wtih 6 rbi’s, and slugged 1.091. That will help solidify his role as starting catcher for this team.
3. Nick Martinez. He may have only made one start but he was very good in that one start. He pitched another 7 innings against the Angels and allowed only 1 run, but 0 earned runs. That ups his streak to 14 innings without an earned run.  He showed veteran poise in those first two innings as the Angels threatened to blow it open early, but he maintained control and was able to get out of two difficult jams in the first two innings. After that he was able to coast through his last 5 innings. He has been a revelation so far this season and is helping to stabilize the rotation. His next start comes tonight against the Diamondbacks.
4. Yovanni Gallardo. Each start he is throwing better. He struggled on opening night against the A’s and lost. He got better and picked up a win against Astros at home. Last week he pitched 6 scoreless innings on the road in Seattle and helped the Rangers to a hard fought 3-1 win. He was the pitcher the Rangers thought they were getting when they traded for him. A guy who is not overpowering, but pitches down in the zone and induces a lot of groundballs. In that start he got 14 groundball outs to be exact and 3 double play grounders. He also showed better control and never allowed the game to get out of control. Pitching like that he will win a good number of starts for the Rangers.
5. Jeff Banister. I know he is not a player, he is the manager. I have to say I like that he is willing to try different lineups and not just stick with the same one over and over again. The Rangers have played 13 games and used 13 different lineups. He is using April to find out what works best. He has remained positive and is communicating with the players about what he expects. Finally, I liked that on Sunday he went for the win in bringing in Feliz in the 8th. Some managers will not be flexible and bring in their closer earlier than the 9th, but Banister wanted the win. It didn’t work out unfortunately, but he went for it and I like that in him. I think as long as he continues with that attitude he will be very successful.

Look Ahead to the Coming Week

The Rangers will finish up their 3 city, 8 game road-trip this Sunday. They will start the week tonight against the Arizona Diamondbacks for a quick two game series. It will be Nick Martinez going up against former OU Sooner righty Chase Anderson. Anderson has no decisions so far this season with a 4.09 ERA in his 11 innings pitched so far this season. The Diamondbacks have won his last 3 starts at Chase Field and are 6-2 in his last 8 starts there. The series will conclude with a game tomorrow night. It will be Yovanni Gallardo going for win number 3 going up against Oklahoma native Archie Bradley. Bradley will be facing his 3rd opening day starter. He already has beat Clayton Kershaw on Opening Day, was in line for the win against World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner, but the bullpen faltered late. He has been pitching very well so far this season. He has a 1-0 record with a 1.42 ERA. The Rangers will have their hands full with both of these starters. The start time for both of these games will be at 8:40.

They will then be off on Thursday before resuming play with a 3 game series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The starters for the Angels have not been announced. It looks like it will be Colby Lewis on Friday, Ross Detweiler on Saturday, and then likely Nick Martinez on Sunday. The Rangers will be looking to try to steal 2 out of 3 in this series and even up the season series with the Angels in their 3 game set.

Not a lot of games this week, but an opportunity to rebound and try to get back to winning baseball games. That will be the team’s mission going forward to Arizona and Los Angeles.

Top GIF’s Of the Week