2011 ALCS: 4 Reasons Why Texas Will Sweep Detroit

The Texas Rangers defeated the Detroit Tigers on Monday night in walk-off fashion to take a 2-0 series lead in the 2011 ALCS.

Nelson Cruz hit a grand slam in the bottom of the eleventh inning to seal the deal for Texas as Game 3 moves to Detroit on Tuesday night.

Here are four reasons why I believe that the Rangers will win both Games 3 and 4 in Detroit to sweep the Tigers and head on to the World Series.

Momentum

It is safe to say that the Rangers have all of the momentum in the series against the Tigers. They won both of the first two games of the series, and when they blew a great chance to win in the ninth inning in Game 2, they didn't falter and still won the game two innings later.

Not only the momentum of the Rangers, but the dismay of the Tigers is also worth mentioning. The Tigers were so close to winning in Texas for a second straight game, and the win slipped through their fingers again. 

The Rangers have all the momentum in this series and the Tigers are on a downhill path. Those two factors will lead to a Texas sweep in the ALCS.

Nelson Cruz

Grand Slam.

Nobody is hotter than Nelson Cruz in the ALCS right now, and he just so happens to play for the Rangers. He has immediately become one of the heroes of these playoffs, and his walk-off grand slam will always be remembered.

What many will forget is that Cruz also hit the game-tying home run in the seventh inning, and that home run was equally important. Without that dinger, the Rangers wouldn't have made it to extras, and the series would be tied 1-1.

Cruz now has three home runs in two games of the ALCS, and I do not see him slowing down the rest of the series.

Bullpen

The bullpen of the Rangers showed their dominance on Monday against the Tigers. When Derek Holland came out of the game after just 2.2 innings and three earned runs, Texas' bullpen ran the show from there.

Scott Feldman entered the game in relief and threw 4.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. The remaining four innings of the game were pitched by Ogando, Gonzalez, Feliz and Adams for Texas, who also all prevented Detroit from scoring.

The bullpen of Texas made a name for themselves in Game 2, and we can expect more of this in the next couple of games.

Experience

Let's not forget that the Rangers have been in this position before. It was only a year ago that Texas lost to the San Francisco Giants, and many of the same players on the Rangers remember that.

Veterans like Michael Young, Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton are back in a position to go to the World Series for a second straight year, and I don't think that any of them are going to choke this year.

This Texas team is poised to win themselves a World Series ring, and their experience will be seen over the next several games. There can't be any screwing around, and the leaders of this team will make sure that the Rangers take down Detroit and make another trip to the World Series.

I smell a sweep.