A Look Ahead: June

The month of May has been a unforgettable one for the Texas Rangers. Not only did they go 19-11 for the month and find themselves right in the thick of the AL Wild Card hunt and actually in the AL West mix, they have a new, renewed sense of excitement working back at Globe Life Park.

So with all that said, let's take a look at June, and how it could stack up for the suddenly streaking Rangers.

June 2-4 β€” The Rangers get the last-place White Sox out of the strong AL Central, and while the Pale Hose are under .500 at the moment, the Rangers will have to face their three best starters, who are all coming off sterling outings their respective last time out. Adrian Beltre is out for "at least two weeks", which will hurt the suddenly dangerous lineup, but let's say the Rangers win their second straight (and second all year) series at home with two wins in three games to move two games over .500 at 28-26.

June 5-7 β€” The Rangers head to Kansas City to play the defending AL champs after splitting a four-game set with the Royals at home earlier this year, when the Rangers were playing badly. Now, the Rangers are red-hot, and the Royals are scuffling a bit after falling out of first place in the AL Central. Even still, we're going to give the Royals a series win at home, as the Rangers move to 29-28.

June 9-11 β€” The Rangers head to Oakland, and for the first time will run into their old skipper as Ron Washington recently began working as a defensive infield instructor for the A's. In case you haven't heard, the A's are the worst team in baseball despite having some pretty strong pitching. The last time the Rangers went to Oakland, they won a series, and they'll do it again with a three-game sweep to improve to 32-28.

June 12-14 β€” This begins a rough stretch for the team as they host the team, that on June 1 is probably rivaled only by Texas as the hottest team in the AL. The Twins have a surprisingly strong offense, led by veteran Torii Hunter, who returned to where his career began seemingly for his twilight ride into the sunset. Instead, he's raking. It'll be a tough series, but I'm giving the Rangers one of the three games as their record will sit at 33-30.

June 15-16 β€” The Rangers host the Los Angeles Dodgers for two games, and with the DH in play, they'll split these two, no matter the pitching matchups to sit at 34-31.

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June 17-18 β€” The Rangers head off to LA to play the Dodgers for two more games in their park, and that's where things could get hairy. The DH will be out of play, so Prince Fielder will be playing first base and take one of the team's better bats, Mitch Moreland, out of the lineup. The Rangers will lose both of these games to fall to 34-33.

June 19-21 β€” The Rangers head off to the Southside of Chicago to play the White Sox, and the history says the Rangers don't play very well in that park. Coming off two straight losses in LA, the Rangers will lose this series, winning one of three to pull back even at .500 at 35-35.

June 23-25 β€” The A's come to town, and the Rangers won't sweep, but they will win a series after a day off on the 22nd. The Rangers take two of three to pull one game back over .500 at 37-36.

June 26-28 β€” This is a big series for the Rangers as they head north of the border, and it's going to be a good one. Let's go ahead and predict a three-game sweep of the Blue Jays to improve to 40-37.

June 29-July 1 β€” We move to July while visiting Baltimore against a very average Orioles team, which is still featuring several former Rangers, though the number has dwindled somewhat. Chris Davis is still hitting homers, but nothing else, and the Rangers will win another road series to improve to 42-38 with pitching reinforcements on the way.

Projected June record: 16-13.

Projected May record: 15-15; Actual May record: 19-11.

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