The Rangers fell behind in St. Louis 2-1 and then 4-3, but they never quit. In a series of one-run wins, the Rangers proved again they could do whatever it takes to win, taking all three from the Cardinals and winning in comeback fashion each of the last two games. They did all this while extending their longest winning streak of the season to six games.
One-run wins and comebacks are becoming the usual for this club, which is no problem since they excel at both.
The 2016 Texas Rangers have shown they have no problems winning close ball games. They are statistically the most clutch club in the MLB, with a .800 winning percentage in one-run games, good for 16-4 on the season. The team just takes care of business better than the rest of the league, when the score is close and late in games.
Even more impressive than their dominance in one-run games: their 22 come-from-behind wins. That also leads the majors. As they showed twice in their series with the Cardinals, you just cannot have a large enough lead when playing the Rangers.
Jeff Banister may be the reason this club handles close games so well. He has accumulated a 43-26 record in one-run games over his two seasons as the Rangers manager, winning a little more than 62% of those games, better than his overall .571 winning percentage.
Jeff Banister and the Rangers seem to thrive in close ball games, whether they have the lead or not, and that will fare them well when the games start meaning more later in the season.
