Looking Ahead: June

Well, May didn't go quite as well as we thought it might as the Texas Rangers piled up even more injuries on top of their already long list, but they did end the month on a 7-4 road trip as they return home to open a nine-game homestand on Tuesday as the calendar has hit June.

The June schedule doesn't look terribly favorable, as the opponents have a combined record of 22 games over .500 heading into the month — heavily buoyed by Oakland's and Detroit's combined, you guessed it, 22 games over .500.

Other than those two series, it's a whole lot of average — just like the Rangers, beginning with three games against the 28-27 Orioles and four games against the below-.500 Indians.

After that, the Rangers are home for two games against Miami before heading off on a key West Coast swing to Seattle, Oakland and Los Angeles and coming home to finish with three games each against the Tigers and Twins, who they just took three of four each from on the road.

If the Rangers' recent offensive surge (the Nationals series notwithstanding) can continue, this could be a winning month for the Rangers, and that nine-game, West Coast roadie will loom large in the division standings.

We aren't counting the June 30th series opener on the road at Baltimore in this June bunch, but we're going to project the Rangers' bats continue to swing the bat better and for guys like Shin-Soo Choo to get back into the swing of things. That will lead to a 14-10 record and a 5-4 record on the AL West swing.

That would put the Rangers (29-28) at 43-38 heading into that Baltimore series when the calendar flips to July, and that would have them still very much in the thick of the playoff hunt.