It's clear that when Ryan Dempster arrived to the Texas Rangers at the July 31 trade deadline, he was in a little over his head making the move from the pitcher-friendly National League to the American League, something many pitchers experience.
In his first three starts, he gave up eight earned runs twice, with a stellar outing at Fenway Park sandwiched in the middle. Since then, though, he's been the Rangers' best starting pitcher.
He'll go tonight for the Rangers as they take on the Baltimore Orioles and Jeanmar Gomez and will be searching for his sixth win as a Rangers pitcher in his eighth Rangers start. Over his last four outings, Dempster has been fantastic. He's 4-0, has gone six innings three times and eight innings once and has posted a 1.73 ERA over that stretch with 28 strikeouts and nine walks.
The Indians are primed to be dominated by another starting pitcher, as Dempster will be looking for a win in his fifth straight appearance and further push forward the notion that he could be a top-flight starter for the Rangers come October.
