Riding a dominant month and a fresh sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays, the Texas Rangers have clawed back to .500 to seize control of a wide-open American League West race.
The best record in the American League belongs to the Texas Rangers since May 29. Sitting at 42-42 isn't ideal, but being exactly .500 is good enough to be first place by half a game in the AL West.
Texas knows they're going to need to stay hot if they want to win the division, but for now, they've put an extremely weak AL on notice with the All-Star break looming.
In all honesty, this break could be the worst thing for Texas. There are still plenty of games before the Rangers will have a week off, but with as hot as they've been, this is a team that welcomes playing everyday.
Only three other AL teams are 7-3 in their last 10 games. Fresh off a four-game sweep in Toronto, it feels like the sky is the limit for this Rangers squad, and now they'll have a chance to prove that in Cleveland.
Is Rangers Hot Streak Sustainable?
The Toronto Blue Jays are now six games under .500, but it's important to look at where they were before their slate against the Rangers. At that point, Toronto was 39-41, so the Rangers did some true damage when it comes to the Blue Jays making a case to be a contender in the AL East.
As for their upcoming opponent, the Cleveland Guardians, the Rangers would love to finish their 10-game road stretch on a high note. Cleveland isn't perfect, but they have a .524 winning percentage which has them tied for first in the AL Central.
The American League is nowhere near as strong as the National League, but that's something that works in the Rangers favor. Even with a stretch where they lost five of six from June 12 to June 18, they still came out of a 30-day sample size with the best record in the AL.
Ideal Three-Game Homestand
In an interesting scheduling note, the Rangers have Friday, July 3, off, one day after they begin a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are in fourth place in the AL Central and are nowhere near the team they were a year ago.
If that's not enough, the Rangers also have an off day on Monday, July 6. Those are their last two before the All-Star break, so they'll be sure to make the most of them as they're set to host the last-place Los Angeles Angels and third-place Houston Astros.
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