Major League Baseball

Rangers pitching key to big AL West lead

Published Aug. 16, 2011 5:54 p.m. ET

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For several weeks, the strongest believers in the Los Angeles Angels' postseason chances — myself included — pointed to a pitching edge over the rival Texas Rangers.

That argument is getting harder to make.

In fact, it's becoming factually incorrect.

The Rangers increased their lead in the American League West to five games with an 8-4 victory in Anaheim on Monday, in the opener of a statement series. They haven't been this far ahead since the middle of last month. They are on the verge of pulling away.

And one of the biggest reasons is — you guessed it — pitching.

The relevant facts:

• Texas has the AL's lowest bullpen ERA since the All-Star break — a sparkling 2.07, according to STATS LLC.

• Surely to Nolan Ryan's delight, Rangers starters entered the week having combined for the league's second-best ERA in the second half (3.47). The Angels, by contrast, ranked sixth

• While lacking a Cliff Lee type, the Rangers rotation has gone nearly two weeks without losing a game.

• Mike Adams and Koji Uehara, the late-inning righty who stabilized the Rangers' victory Monday at a perilous juncture, have noticeably deepened the bullpen since arriving in deadline deals. Their combined line: 1-2 with a 1.80 ERA in 15 innings.

• The Angels still have the best overall ERA in the AL, but they didn't upgrade their bullpen from the outside last month. Now the bill is coming due. Rookie closer Jordan Walden, while an All-Star, leads the majors in blown saves. Fernando Rodney, the mercurial setup man, is an even bigger concern.

And at the worst possible moment — given the opponent and division deficit — the Angels bullpen was forced to cover 8-1/3 innings Monday when starter Garrett Richards (another rookie) left in the first inning because of a groin injury.

At this point, the Rally Monkey can schedule early October tee times in Palm Springs.

Hey, I picked the Angels to win this division. It looks like I'm going to be wrong. Not the first time, of course, but I had a good feeling about this team.

During a season in which I'm expecting the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees to ask David Cone if he's interested in a comeback attempt, the Angels look like the perfect sleeper. Sure, the offense is suspect. But they have arguably the best 1-2-3 of any rotation in the American League: Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana.

Weaver leads the league in ERA (2.13). Haren, as durable as ever, is on track for his customary 200-plus innings. Santana no-hit the Indians last month and hasn't permitted more than three earned runs in a start in over two months. His ERA over that span is 1.72.

All three are enjoying career years, as measured by ERA. That would be impressive for any trio, but particularly a group that combined for five All-Star appearances prior to this season.

Santana's performance has been the most surprising, if only because the 28-year-old was known as much for inconsistency as his electric stuff.

"Following the no-hitter, he's taken it to another level," Angels general manager Tony Reagins said over the phone Monday. "The great fastball has been there in the past. Now he's throwing his slider for a strike, along with another one that breaks harder and is a strikeout pitch. He's fun to watch. When he takes the mound, the intensity and focus are there. I'm starting to believe he's going to the mound thinking he can throw a no-hitter every time."

The Yankees' third starter is Bartolo Colon (or Ivan Nova). The Red Sox' third starter is John Lackey (or Erik Bedard). The opportunity is there for the Angels — if they make the playoffs. "We have the capability of going a long way into the postseason," Reagins said, "but we have to start by winning games now."

And it seems the Angels have encountered a game-changing problem.

The Rangers can pitch, too.

Do they have a true ace, like Weaver or Haren? Not necessarily. But they have multiple starters — C.J. Wilson, Alexi Ogando, Derek Holland — with the stuff to overwhelm any lineup. They also have depth. No matter how you arrange the rotation, the Rangers might be better in the 3-4-5 spots than any team outside of the Philadelphia Phillies.

"To me, there are only a handful of true No. 1s in the game at any point," Texas GM Jon Daniels said. "The way our guys have pitched, any one of them is capable of filling that role on a given night.

"C.J. has been excellent as a starter for the past couple years. Everyone talks about what Cliff did for us, and rightfully so, but Colby Lewis was probably our most consistent starter last postseason. He beat the Yankees twice. He beat the Giants. And now our young guys (Ogando, Holland, and Matt Harrison) have shown they're capable of performing at this level."

Ogando is the one to watch. He is the lone power right-hander in the Texas rotation, and the Rangers' season may hinge on the continued liveliness of his fastball. Ogando, 27, is in second year as a big leaguer, but first as a starter. He surpassed last year's innings total long ago.

"It's something we're mindful of," Daniels said. "When appropriate, we'll look to trim an inning or two. But monitoring an individual during a pennant race is easy to talk about, tough to do. We don't think Alexi falls into the same category of a young kid coming up from the minor leagues. He's older. He has a unique body type. He has a unique arm action. He has a unique backstory of how he got to this point [having been denied a visa for several years]."

Implicit in Daniels' remarks is the acknowledgement that players tend to have inertia during a season. All things being equal, teams would rather help players sustain success, rather than rescue them from miserable slumps in mid-August. Unfortunately for the Angels, that is what they must try to do with Vernon Wells, who has fallen short of even the most pessimistic projections after his arrival from Toronto.

Wells is hitting .205. Unlike Dan Uggla, his nightmare year has become worse, not better.

"You're looking for Vernon to be Vernon," Reagins said. "We know there's a really talented player in there. He's obviously struggling this season, but traditionally he's had some pretty good Septembers."

We should be careful not to draw too many conclusions from any series in the middle of August. However, the Rangers could inflict serious damage to the Angels' postseason hopes by taking two of the final three in this series, thus leaving town with a six-game lead. And that's not out of the question.

The Rangers can churn through a pitching staff better than any team in baseball (other than maybe the Red Sox and Yankees), and the Angels will be shorthanded after Monday's heavy bullpen use. Of note: Game 2 pitcher Tyler Chatwood is a rookie who averages fewer than six innings per start. That is yet another unpleasant statistic for Scioscia to consider.

The race isn't over. It's far too early to say that. But Michael Irvin has cleared the safeties, and the ball is in the air.

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