Series Thread: Astros invade Globe Life for deciding series 9/2-9/4

[romeo212000]

And we do own their asses this year! 12-4 vs these MF'ers is nice, lets make it 13-4 tomorrow

Have we really let them win 4 times?

 

[Bmurph]

Have we really let them win 4 times?

I think Rev is right I didnt remember them beating us 4 times, I think its only 2. I got it from the article I posted but I think its wrong

 

[Bmurph]

13-2

Yes that is correct I looked it up, the article had it wrong, so yes we own their asses!

 

[romeo212000]

Yes that is correct I looked it up, the article had it wrong, so yes we own their asses!

Lets win tomorrow and bury their whiny asses.

 

[RevSader]

Yes that is correct I looked it up, the article had it wrong, so yes we own their asses!

The all time record is hilarious too.

95-52

 

[Bmurph]

Lets win tomorrow and bury their whiny asses.

Give them a "silver boot" in the ass right out of Globe tomorrow

 

[Bmurph]

The all time record is hilarious too.

95-52

Yes very nice, they're our bitch

 

[PhantomWarrior]

For those keeping score at home the run differential is now +32.

Magic number now 17

 

[WilltheThrill]

Yes that is correct I looked it up, the article had it wrong, so yes we own their asses!

The article wasn't wrong, you just read it the wrong way. It was saying we beat the Astros 12-4 today. They were citing the score of today's game, not the season head-to-head record.

In fact, just below the photo of Roogie dumping the PowerAde, there is a paragraph which states we are 13-2 against Houston this year.

 

[Bmurph]

The article wasn't wrong, you just read it the wrong way. It was saying we beat the Astros 12-4 today. They were citing the score of today's game, not the season head-to-head record.

Yeah there was another article I had read first and it was what threw me off. Took a nap on the couch after the game and wasn't completely awake I guess. I went back and read it again and realized what I had done. Anyway we have kicked their ass all year, and I for one love it and hope Jeff is crying somewhere again

 

[PhantomWarrior]

Looking at the AL central and east playoff contenders (Div leaders and WC)

We won the season series against the Tigers, O's, and Indians. Tied Boston and lost to Toronto.

 

[Kelleyman]

2011 was the best I've ever seen and these guys don't come close in terms overall sharpness, but I still love the shit out of this team. Even when they piss me off...

But this year we have Yu and Cole. Potential difference-makers

 

[DT LUNA]

Rangers dominating Astros, Mariners and close games en route to AL West title
The Rangers are putting together an historic season in one-run games

• by Matt Snyder
• @MattSnyderCBS
• 2h ago • 3 min read

Much like we basically know the NL East is going to the Nationals and the NL Central is definitely going to the Cubs, the AL West is all but decided here on Sept. 3. The Texas Rangers have a 10 1/2-game lead over the Astros after yet another head-to-head victory on Saturday, 12-4 over Houston.

Entering Saturday, SportsLine gave the Rangers a 99.8 percent chance of winning the AL West. After another win over the Astros, it should be 100 percent heading into Sunday. There are only 26 games left. To put this into perspective, if the Rangers were to go 8-18 the rest of the way, the Astros would have to go 19-8 in order to end up in a tie.

Is that possible? Sure. Obviously it's possible. Is it plausible? No, it's really not.

Remember that historic Red Sox collapse in 2011, when the Rays ran them down and it culminated with Evan Longoria's walk-off homer/the Red Sox losing in walk-off fashion to the Orioles? The Rays were nine games back on Sept. 3. They went 16-8 while the Red Sox went 6-18 the rest of the way. That was drastic, and in the case of the Rangers and Astros, even that wouldn't get it done for Houston. They'd need a more extreme comeback. The odds are heavily stacked against that, too, when looking at the schedule.

Of the Rangers' 26 games left, 18 come against terrible teams (Angels, A's, Brewers, Rays). After Sunday's game in Texas, the Astros have four in Cleveland and then host the Cubs for three.

So we can probably feel at least mildly safe in just saying this thing is over. I'd feel strong enough to wager something hefty, if anyone would actually take the Astros side.

This has been happening an awful lot for the Rangers this season. USATSI
How it happened on Saturday was -- nevermind. It doesn't matter, other than to say that the Rangers have totally just crushed their opposition to the point of it surely being demoralizing. They've been doing it all season. It's one of the more remarkable displays on divisional dominance in head-to-heads in recent memory.

The Rangers are now 13-2 against the Astros. Earlier this week, they effectively ruined the Mariners' playoff chances with a sweep and sit 11-4 against Seattle.

So the Rangers are 24-6 against the two other playoff contenders in their division. That's a 162-game pace of 130 wins. They completely and utterly own the Astros and Mariners.

How bad is it? They've actually won the division solely because of the head-to-head dominance.

Check this out. If we take out the games the Rangers have played against the Astros and Mariners, here are the winning percentages of the three teams:

Astros, .575 (162-game pace of 93 wins)
Rangers, .547 (162-game pace of 89 wins)
Mariners, .546 (162-game pace of 88 wins)

That would have been quite the race, if the Mariners or certainly the Astros could hang with the Rangers when they play them. They just can't. The entire division has swung based on one team dominating the head-to-head matchups.

The Rangers are an interesting team. They've lost Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo to injuries. The current rotation beyond Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish hasn't been very good -- and Darvish has only made 12 starts. The bullpen was awful for a while and still entered Saturday with a 4.76 ERA (27th in baseball). They didn't have a productive catcher until the trade deadline, either.

We've already discussed the head-to-head dominance of their competitors, but they've also been magic in one-run games. They are 30-8 in such affairs. That is the best record in baseball history in one-run games. Here's the top five:

1. 2016 Rangers, 30-8
2. 2012 Orioles, 29-9
3. 1981 Orioles, 21-7
4. 1908 Pirates, 33-12
5. 1970 Orioles, 40-15

(Full list on baseball-reference.com play index)

The new-school way of thinking is to see all of this and declare that the Rangers have actually been more lucky than good and they'll stop being so lucky soon. We've also been hearing that all season. Once the playoffs begin, everything is reset to zero, and you'll be looking at a Rangers team that is unbelievably confident in themselves in close games and that has as much talent as anyone. They can also use a Darvish/Hamels combo for three games in the divisional round and four games in the ALCS and/or World Series should they advance.

They've gotten this far with dominating important head-to-head matchups and winning close games. Who is to say it can't continue?


I could read this over and over!

Me too and thanks for posting.

 

[DT LUNA]

Have we really let them win 4 times?

That is cruel.Haha

 

[Bmurph]

RF
Nomar Mazara (L)
CF
Ian Desmond (R)
DH
Carlos Beltran (S)
3B
Adrian Beltre (R)
2B
Rougned Odor (L)
C
Jonathan Lucroy (R)
1B
Mitch Moreland (L)
LF
Carlos Gomez (R)
SS
J. Profar (S)

 

[Rudy_Rangerfan]

RF
Nomar Mazara (L)
CF
Ian Desmond (R)
DH
Carlos Beltran (S)
3B
Adrian Beltre (R)
2B
Rougned Odor (L)
C
Jonathan Lucroy (R)
1B
Mitch Moreland (L)
LF
Carlos Gomez (R)
SS
J. Profar (S)

Really like this lineup, good to see profar see some playing time and Elvis getting a day off.

 

[PhantomWarrior]

Saw two different line ups. One with Profar and one with Adrus.

 

[DT LUNA]

Watching Odor interacting with little kids is really neat.

 

[DT LUNA]

Ump screwed you Yu

 

[DT LUNA]

32 pitches not good.