The Texas Rangers currently own one of baseball's longest active win streaks that they are hopeful continues in order to get the team back to being above .500. The team looks to end their nine-game road trip on a high as they wrap up their series with the Cleveland Indians after getting a close win on Tuesday that included a Prince Fielder three-run home and a Mitch Moreland solo shot to win the game.
The Rangers continue as one of the American League's top teams thanks to their lengthy win streak. This year is a far cry from last year which saw the team finish with just 67 wins. They have not been about the .500 mark since last June and already look on pace to beat that this year. Getting a win against the Indians would help the effort.
Fielder deserves most of the credit for the return success. He appears to be in mid-season form going 14 for 24 with five home runs and 15 RBIs in a five-game stretch while going 6 for 10 with two home runs in the past two games. Fielder is putting up the kind of numbers he had in earlier years and the Rangers are benefitting from it. Moreland is also having a strong stretch of the season as he sits batting .341 with four home runs in his past 10 games.
The Rangers will start Colby Lewis in hopes that he can keep momentum going. The pitcher is 4-2 with a 3.49 ERA on the season, but has struggled recently with a 7.71 ERA in his last two starts. He last faced Cleveland in mid-May where he gave up six runs in five innings. However, he does have a career 6.09 ERA against the Indians. He will try and slow down Jason Kipnis who is 10 for 22 against Texas this season while batting .439 this month.
Cleveland will aim to counter the surging bats of the Rangers with Carlos Carrasco who is 5-4 with a 4.74 ERA on the season. In his last start he gave up five runs over eight innings to Texas while Moreland had a two-run homer off him. Carrasco got the nod this season after ending 2014 on a high note with a 1.13 ERA in his final three starts, but he has been too inconsistent this year. The Indians need that to change.
