By Fitzgerald Cecilio

Arlington, TX

With remarkably potent slugging power and superb pitching, the Texas Rangers seemed poised to make another crack at the elusive World Series title this season.

The Rangers improved their regular-season record to division best 30-18 after scoring a three-game sweep over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rangers Ballpark over the weekend.

Josh Hamilton has been one of the main reasons behind the Rangers' upsurge. The 31-year-old Hamilton is racking up MVP-type of numbers again, averaging .368 with 20 homers and 53 RBI in 45 games.

Third baseman Adrian Beltre (.318 with 10 homers and 33 RBI) and right fielder Nelson Cruz (.271 with 6 homes and 33 RBI) are also having a solid seasons for the Rangers, who ranked first in MLB in batting average (.289), slugging percentage (.477), on base percentage (.347) and runs (276).

The Rangers also hardly felt the departure of former ace and current Los Angeles Angels hurler C.J Wilson with the quick emergence of Japanese rookie Yu Darvish, who went 7-2 with a 3.25 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 10 outings.

The 37-year-old closer Joe Nathan is still shutting batters down in the final inning, collecting 10 saves with a .229 ERA and 24 strikeouts.

The Rangers are considerably a much better all-around team than they had been these past three years. The AL West leader so far has shown capable of blowing out opposing teams and coming through with clutch hits in close games.

The Rangers are in for a test after their three-game home stand against the Seattle Mariners as Ron Washington's guys face the red-hot Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, and San Francisco Giants in a 10 game road swing.

Yet, there's still no denying the Rangers are hungry for a World Series title after coming up short twice in 2010 and 2011. For now, the Rangers are playing like title contenders but would be enough to win it all remains unanswered until September.

 

Pitching Stability and Slugging Power Key to Rangers Success