Bombs Away: Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers Hope to Keep Pace in Playoff Race

Both the Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers are coming off vital series wins. The Rangers took two of three from the Los Angeles Angels to maintain within reach of the division lead. The Rays also took two of three from the Toronto Blue Jays to jump into third place in their group of death division.

Combine the Rangers, Rays, and the Ballpark in Arlington and you should expect a lot of home runs. The Rangers and Rays are two of only four teams in all of baseball that have over 100 home runs, with 115 and 105 long shots respectively. They're both also top-three in slugging with the Rays slugging .464 and the Rangers at .455.

July 3, Game One: Scott Kazmir (4-4, 7.28 ERA) vs. Tommy Hunter (0-1, 3.86 ERA)

The Rays throw out ace Scott Kazmir, who is making his second start since coming off of a stint on the disabled list. Against a weak Florida offense, he only lasted five innings, yielding two earned runs, four hits, and a walk. He also struck out five.

The Rangers' hurler will be Tommy Hunter. He is coming off a decent start against the Padres, where he only yielded two earned runs and zero walks. He did allow seven hits, but also struck out three.

Scott Kazmir has owned the Rangers throughout his career. In seven career starts, he is 4-0 with a 2.09 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 56 strikeouts in 43 innings pitched. Two of his wins have come in the Ballpark in Arlington.

Look for Marlon Byrd to be effective. Besides being 2-for-6 in his career against Kazmir, Byrd is batting .310 with three homers, seven RBI, and a 1.044 OPS in the past seven days. Michael Young also has four RBI in thirteen career at-bats against Kazmir.

Tommy Hunter has yet to win a game in his young career. Look for Carl Crawford an BJ Upton to continue their hot hitting as they're batting a combined .377 with four home runs, 13 RBI, 38 total bases, and six stolen bases in the past seven days.

That Tommy Hunter is a right-hander is also a bad sign, as the Rays are 31-20 against right-handed pitchers.

Prediction: Rays 11, Rangers 9—The Rays will chase Hunter out early with some bombs. The Rangers will also hit some bombs, but it won't be enough to overcome the Rays offensive attack.

July 4, Game Two: David Price (2-2, 3.93 ERA) vs. Derek Holland (1-5, 6.20 ERA)

David Price is coming off an impressive performance against the Marlins. He lasted past the sixth inning for just the second time this season. He only yielded one earned run and two hits over 6 1/3 innings. Control is still a problem as he threw more walks (five) than strikeouts (four).

Derek Holland is coming off an embarrassing start. Against one of the worst offenses in baseball, the Padres, he only lasted 5 2/3 innings while he yielded six earned runs. He also gave up 13 hits, although he throw eight strikeouts.

Texas is 16-11 against left-handers, which is a good sign for the Rangers. An even better sign is that the Rays are only 13-16 against left-handed pitchers. Look for B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria to have success. Longoria should be able to snap out of his slump while Upton looks to continue his hot streak.

Prediction: Rangers 4, Rays 3—David Price won't last long in this one. He'll either strike out some people or give up a couple of long bombs. Look for Holland to look to have some good stuff.

July 5, Game Three: Jeff Niemann (7-4, 3.95 ERA) vs. Scott Feldman (6-2, 4.09 ERA)

Jeff Niemann looked extremely impressive in his last outing. Against a tough Blue Jays offense, Niemann lasted 7 1/3 innings. He only yielded one earned run, four hits, and two walks. Niemann hasn't given up a home run in seven starts and hasn't lost a game in five games.

Scott Feldman is coming off a quality start against the Angels. He got the win, yielding three earned runs over six innings. He also kept this groundball numbers up, which is goinng to determine the series.

Niemann has been impressive on the road. He's 5-2 with a 3.78 away from the Trop. Although he does yield more home runs on the road, which could be a problem in Arlington, opponents get less hits and more walks on the road.

In his career, Feldman is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 1.25 WHIP against the Rays. He only has one start against them, as he's come out of the bullpen before. Even worse news for the Rangers is that the Rays beat up on right-handers.

Prediction: Rays 8, Rangers 5—Feldman will pitch well, but the Rays will get to the bullpen of the Rangers. Expect lots of home runs, again.