American League West standings via MLB.com
Texas Rangers:
The Texas Rangers have held the lead for what feels like 2-plus seasons now. They have won 6 of their last 10 games and in the last week they swept the Blue Jays, but lost 2 of 3 against their division rivals, the Seattle Mariners.
Josh Hamilton continues to be an offensive juggernaut for this team, he leads the league with 21 HR and 57 RBI. He also leads the league with a .764 slugging percentage, an 1.184 OPS and 205 OPS+. He is also batting .368 this season with a .420 OBP.
The Rangers had to use the DL for the first time this season when they placed Neftali Feliz on there on May 21st due to elbow discomfort. The injury is not considered serious at this point, but the right-hander is expected to miss at least 6 weeks. In a corresponding move, the Rangers signed veteran pitcher Roy Oswalt earlier this week. He will be making a few minor league starts before joining the team.
For more on the Texas Rangers, visit Big Game Claws.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
It was inevitable that the Angels would eventually start winning, now here they are with a .500 record and only 5.5 games out of first place. The Angels are 8-2 in their last 10 games and are currently coming off three series wins in a row (including a 4-game sweep against the Mariners).
Albert Pujols has seemed to finally “figured it out,” carrying a .375/.422/.800 slash line over his last 10 games, which includes 5 HR and 10 RBI. Rookie Mike Tout also continues to impress hitting .303/.366/.521 over 30 games with a .384 wOBA.
Jered Weaver had to be pulled from his last start after only facing 3 batters and on Tuesday he was placed on the DL with a strained muscle in his back. It will be interesting to see how the loss of their ace plays out, but I don’t think this will hamper the team too much.
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners and their fans must be pretty happy right now because they are no longer the sole owner of last place after taking 2 out of 3 from the division leading Texas Rangers. Seattle is 4-6 over their last 10 starts, but are coming off a 21-7 win against the Rangers so they have to be feeling pretty good right now.
Although his 4-4 record doesn’t reflect his success, Felix Hernandez continues to prove why he is the ace of the rotation. In 11 starts this season he has a 3.17 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, a 8.80 SO/9 and .70 HR/9 rate.
For more on the Seattle Mariners, visit Needle Ball.
Oakland Athletics:
Thanks to an 8-game losing streak the A’s have gone from second place to last in less than 2 weeks. They have lost 4 straight series, including a back-to-back sweep by the New York Yankees and (AL worst) Minnesota Twins. The A’s are going no where fast and it’s clear they need a miracle at this point (and it’s only June).
The A’s are dead last in the league in almost all offensive categories, they have a team .210/.288/.332 slash line and are 29th in all of baseball in runs scored with 164.
As of late Josh Reddick seems to be the only shinning spot, as he leads the team with a .266/.333/.547 slash lane, a .880 OPS with 14 HR and 27 RBI.
There is some good news for the team, they will see Yoenis Cespedes and Brandon McCarthy return from the disabled list this weekend.
For more on the Oakland Athletics, visit The Oaktown Breakdown.
