The Texas Rangers had chased some pretty significant starting pitchers since the all-star break, and in the process have become the best offense in baseball in that span of more than a month.
Madison Bumgarner, Chris Archer, you name 'em, and the Rangers have hit them recently.
On Thursday in Detroit, they ran in to Alfredo Simon — yes, Alfredo Simon — and that was enough to render them useless.
Rougned Odor's double was the team's only hit in the game as Simon registered not only his first complete game but also a shutout. It wasn't pretty. The good thing is, the Rangers' lineup has looked so good in recent weeks that it's not much to freak out about.
The lineup has suddenly become a lot longer with the resurgence of guys like Shin-Soo Choo and Elvis Andrus, so much so that Odor is now batting seventh or eighth in the lineup when he was batting second for much of the summer.
If Mike Napoli can get hot, which appears to be coming, the Rangers will be even harder for opposing teams down the stretch. The Rangers will get a chance for redemption on Friday against Justin Verlander, who's been a shell of his former self but has been good lately.
