The Rangers on Saturday topped the Cardinals by a score of 4-3 (box score), and they did so in pretty dramatic fashion. Take a look at the win probability chart, courtesy of FanGraphs:
Source: FanGraphs
So the Rangers were down 3-0 with two outs in the eighth, which gave them a 2.9 percent chance of winning the game. Texas went on to put two runs on the board in the eighth and another two on the board in the ninth. Along the way, the Ranger bullpen worked 4 2/3 innings of one-hit, shutout ball.
With that unlikely win, the Rangers moved to 44-25 on the year and stretched their lead in the AL West to 7 1/2 games over the Mariners. They're playing at a 103-win pace.
There's also this:
The #Rangers, 44-25, off to best start in franchise history, making mockery out of AL West race. See ya in October
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) June 18, 2016
Franchise history dates back to 1961, so that's indeed something.
Then there's this:
Final: #Rangers 4, #Cardinals 3 (Texas stuns STL w/ 4 late runs, clinches club-record 9th consecutive series win)
— Stefan Stevenson (@StevensonFWST) June 18, 2016
Yep, nine straight series wins. They haven't dropped a series since way back yonder on May 17 (the A's wound up sweeping them).
Sure, the Rangers may have played a bit over their heads to date (they've outplayed their run differential and their batted-ball outcomes), but this is a team with tremendous young talent in place (and some on the way), a mix of mostly productive veterans, and a tactically gifted manager. As such, 2016 is shaping up to be a special season in Arlington.
