Texas Rangers Briefly Look Like Defending Champs

ARLINGTON, TX — The Texas Rangers pushed their winning streak to three games with Sunday's 13-2 victory over Tampa Bay. 

With one more win, the Rangers will match their longest winning streak of the season.

You read that right. After 90 games into the 2024 season, the defending World Series champions haven't managed better than four wins in a row yet.

The Rangers have struggled to a 42-48 record, the kind of mediocrity that is nothing new for a franchise that had six straight losing seasons before coming out of nowhere last year to win it all.

But there was every reason to believe the Rangers would be contenders again this season.

Texas returned most of last year's team that went 90-72 and rolled through the playoffs with a 13-4 record.

It seemed like the Rangers were finally back and wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Instead, they stumbled out of the gates to start this year and have never found their footing.

Rangers fans at least had the Dallas Mavericks' run to the NBA Finals to distract them for a while.

With the All-Star Game in Arlington next week, the Rangers have only two All-Stars -- second baseman Marcus Semien and new relief pitcher Kirby Yates, and even Semien is hitting just .229.

Last year's American League Championship Series MVP Adolis Garcia has been even worse with a .215 batting average.

Can this three-game winning streak possibly spark the Rangers as they head into the last week before the All-Star break? Maybe, but their next six games are all on the road, where Texas is 18-27 this year - a far cry from last year road-warrior team that went 10-1 away from home during the playoffs.

It's possible this team was never as good as we thought and just got hot at the right time. After all, the Rangers were 50-1 longshots to win the World Series when last year began. They became the first champion to ever have more blown saves than saves. They were the No. 5 seed and went on an improbable run through the playoffs. 

Rangers fans should just enjoy that somehow happened.

That being said, there's still a lot of season left. The Rangers are only six games behind Seattle and four back of the Astros in the American League West Division.

Maybe they have another surprise in them.

If not, football season is right around the corner, and Dallas fans can move on to new disappointment.