The NFL preseason is underway but a lot of eyes are still tuned to baseball and the American League wildcard race. This weekends battle between the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox has plenty of drama and story lines. The Red Sox have a 1/2 game lead over ther Rangers and four game lead over the Rays for the AL wild card.
The Rangers are rolling and Josh Hamilton is shaking off the revelations that he can be a drunk douchebag (see below) to lead the team to series wins over the Indians and Angels.
Tonight the Rangers expect to get hottie Ian Kinsler back from the DL and Nelson Cruz from a nagging foot injury. The Rangers are 37-21 at home while the Red Sox have struggled on the road, including being swept in Arlington earlier this year. 
The Rangers young arms are performing well above expectations. The Rangers have the best ERA in the AL since the All-Star break. The Rangers????? Yes, these aren’t your Daddy’s rangers. The Red Sox are having problems scoring and the Rangers have allowed only one run in the past two games.
So everything is set up just perfectly for the Rangers, right? Tap the brakes. The Red Sox, like the Yankees, are full of veterans who know how to win. The Red Sox are struggling to figure out how to add Victor Martinez to the infield. With Kevin Youkilis sitting out the series to serve his fighting suspension the Red Sox have less to tinker with and Mike Lowell can feel comfortable in his role as a starter. The Red Sox remind me of the San Antonio Spurs. A team loaded with proven winners who more often than not respond well to adversity. Despite all of the signs pointing to a Ranger’s series win, don’t count out these Red Sox just yet.
I think the critical game and matchup is tonight, Millwood vs Lester. Both pitchers are 9-7 with a mid 3 ERA who pitched well in their last outings. With Derek Holland and Dustin Nippert, both hotties, pitching so well for the Rangers and scheduled to go against Brad Penny and Junichi Tazawa on Saturday and Sunday, tonight’s game will decide who wins this series.
derek holland
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Other notes:
Neftali Feliz
Feliz struck out the first five batters he faced on Thursday which combined with the last two batters he faced in Anaheim tied a Rangers record for seven strikeouts in a row. Who’s record did he tie? Nolan Ryan.
Feliz also threw a pitch at 99 mph that catcher Taylor Teagarden just missed. This kid is gonna be special.
Favorable end of season schedule
The Red Sox have a good chance to finish the season strong as only one, the Yankees, out of their five end of season opponents has a winning record.
thesportsfag