On Deck will be here all season to provide you with everything you need to know (and a few things you don't) about every Rangers series during the 2015 season.
The Opponent: The Twins have won just two of their of their last 10 games and are now chasing the Rangers in the AL Wild Card race.
Past 2015 Meetings: The Rangers took two of three games from the Twins in Arlington back in June.
Pitching Matchups: Tuesday — Yovani Gallardo (8-9, 3.47 ERA) vs. Kyle Gibson (8-9, 3.78); Wednesday — Nick Martinez (7-6, 3.91) vs. Mike Pelfrey (5-7, 4.06); Thursday — Cole Hamels (0-1, 5.93, as Ranger) vs. Ervin Santana (2-3, 5.40)
What's Hot: Rougned Odor is red-hot again, hitting .529 (11-for-21) over his last five games with a double, a triple and a team-high five RBIs in the last week. He's been the best hitter on the Rangers since coming back up from a month-and-a-half long demotion earlier this year. Mitch Moreland is hitting .429 over his last six games. The new Rangers relievers, Jake Diekman and Sam Dyson, have worked a combined 6 2/3 scoreless innings in the last week, allowing just three hits.
Similar to the Rangers' bullpen as of late, the Twins' pen has been lights out in recent days. It's been led by Brian Duensing and Kevin Jepsen, who've thrown together 7 1/3 scoreless innings over the last week while allowing just three hits. That doesn't even mention closer Glen Perkins, who's one of the best in the game.
What's Not: Cole Hamels hasn't been terrible in his two starts as a Ranger, but he hasn't been the ace the Rangers hoped for. Don't panic, though. Everything is going to be OK with Hamels. Delino DeShields has been great this year, but he's been awful lately. In his last six games, he has four hits and 11 strikeouts.
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The Twins' bats have been a big reason for their recent skid, as not one regular is hitting .300 over the last week. Third baseman Trevor Plouffe and second baseman Brian Dozier, who have both been big for the Twins this year, are hitting just .154 and .172, respectively, over the last week.
