Rangers Beat Athletics for Eighth Straight Win

The Texas Rangers continue to be hotter than, well, the temperature in Texas this summer. On August 8th, Max Scherzer pitched seven strong innings allowing just three hits and one run as the Rangers beat the hapless Oakland Athletics 6-1 in a nearly empty Oakland Coliseum. It was the Rangers’ eighth straight victory.

Scherzer improved to 2-0 since he was traded by the Mets. Okay, both wins were against bad teams (the Chicago White Sox being the other), but the important point is he pitched the Rangers to victory. The Houston Astros are in hot pursuit of the Rangers, and were three games back in the A.L. West going into games of August 9th. The Seattle Mariners have crept back into the picture in the West race, but were still 6 ½ back. Texas and Houston have three games left against each other, in Arlington September 4th-6th. The Rangers have seven left with Seattle, including four in the Emerald City to close out the regular season. The Astros have three left with the Mariners.