The first place Texas Rangers continue to extend their lead in the division. As of Monday night, they were 7.5 games up on the second place Angels in the division. That is the biggest lead in any division in all of baseball. The fans and all of baseball is starting to believe in the Rangers. They just won three out of four home games against the Angels who have won five of the last six division titles. They did it with solid pitching which has seldom been something associated with the Rangers. Huge crowds (170,848) over the series filled the stadium in a playoff-like atmosphere. As a long time Rangers fan I couldn’t get enough of the chant this weekend, “Beat LA, Beat LA.” It isn’t very often that the Cowboys training camp begins and local TV and sports radio stations are talking more about the Rangers. This is usually the time of the year the Rangers usually fall out of the race and local fans focus on football. A friend of mine, Kenny Bybee put it in perspective when he told me, “I’m still riding a Rangers high, Cowboys can wait on the backburner for a bit longer. It’s time!”

On Thursday, Cliff Lee got his first win as a Ranger. He pitched 8 1/3 innings giving up two runs on five hits and no walks. Friday, C.J. Wilson was phenomenal pitching eight shutout innings as Texas won 1-0. He held the Angels to four singles with no walks and no batter reached second base. On Sunday, “Big Game” Tommy Hunter got the win pushing his record to 8-0. His eight game winning streak is already the longest ever by a Ranger starting pitcher to begin a season and is now tied for the fifth longest by a starter in team history.

This week they are home for a three game series against Oakland and then off to Los Angeles for a three game series with the Angels.