There were all kinds of things about the four-game series with the Detroit Tigers — the best offense in baseball — that should stand out for the Texas Rangers after the Rangers took three of the four games in Arlington.
The three best pitchers the Rangers faced for the Tigers — Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister — all failed to get out of the fourth inning, with Verlander and Sanchez being chased in the third. The Rangers played just one game (Thursday's beating of Verlander) with their leading hitter this season as Ian Kinsler was put on the disabled list on Sunday after being scratched Saturday and Sunday.
The Rangers also took the series while pitching two rookie starters, Justin Grimm and Nick Tepesch, as Grimm picked up a win and Tepesch took a tough-luck loss while giving up just two runs while the Rangers were shut down by Rick Porcello, of all people.
The Rangers did this without their No. 1 catcher playing a single game, as both Geovany Soto and Robinson Chirinos both got starts in the series and Soto was one of the hotter bats in the lineup.
The Rangers are tied for the big-league lead and tops in the AL with 58 home runs on the season, all without Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli, who accounted for more than half of the team's home runs last year.
And now, the Rangers, at 29-15, have the best record in all of baseball, surpassing those pesky St. Louis Cardinals.
Who would've thunk it?
