The Texas Rangers need a win on Thursday night to prevent a home sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles and cast-offs Chris Davis and Nelson Cruz.
If they're going to do that, they're either going to have break out of their recent offensive funk or get a strong outing from starting pitcher Colby Lewis in what will be his 10th start of the season after coming back from a near two-year big-league hiatus after surgeries on his elbow and hip.
This season, Lewis has scuffled his way to a 5.44 ERA and a 4-4 record, a record that's pretty indicative of what Lewis has been this season — up and down.
Lewis' last start against the Nationals was a stinker when he allowed five earned runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. The start prior to that against Detroit, Lewis allowed two runs on five hits in the same 5 2/3 innings of work. Two starts before that, he pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings, and in between he gave up five runs in a season-long six innings of work. You see the trend here.
Lewis has basically put up a bad start, followed by a good one, followed by a bad one and then another good one. If that trend holds up, Lewis should have a good night tonight against a couple of his former teammates.
