Fansided

Rangers snap 7-game losing streak with 7-1 over Rays

By Brad Rowland

Sep 17, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Joe Nathan (36) high fives catcher A.J. Pierzynski (12) after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. The Rangers won 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Joe Nathan (36) high fives catcher A.J. Pierzynski (12) after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. The Rangers won 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 17, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Joe Nathan (36) high fives catcher A.J. Pierzynski (12) after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. The Rangers won 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 17, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Joe Nathan (36) high fives catcher A.J. Pierzynski (12) after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. The Rangers won 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

In 2 hours and 55 minutes, the Texas Rangers went from drowning in a long losing streak to regaining a tie in the AL Wild Card standings.

Texas snapped a 7-game losing streak on the back of a strong pitching performance from Alexi Ogando and a long-awaited offensive surge from their key contributors. Ogando, making his first start since August 13th, pitched 5 quality innings, allowing only 1 run on 2 hits to gain his 7th win of the year. The right-hander emerged from his bullpen role on a pitch count, but needed only 69 pitches to get through 5 frames and put his team in good position.

With that, the bats did the rest, and they were led by Ian Kinsler. The Rangers second baseman went 2-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBI, and his 1st-inning solo home run ended up being all that the team needed on the scoreboard. He was also helped by a strong night from Leonys Martin, who went 3-for-4 with 3 runs scored, and this type of offensive surge has to be incredibly encouraging for a previously somber fan base.

This win brings Texas to 82-68 in the standings, and these two teams would currently face off in the AL Wild Card play-in game if it were to occur at this moment. That would be a wildly entertaining affair, but there is a long way to go until then, and Rangers fans can hope that this was a turning point in mid-September.

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