Tampa Bay Rays vs. Texas Rangers

Fresh of an important series victory against their divisional, first-place rival, the Texas Rangers hope the good times roll as they spend Independence Day weekend in St. Petersburg to take on the Tampa Bay Rays.

Texas (42-35) held first place in the AL West for almost two months before being caught late last month by the Los Angeles Angels. With a loss in the opening game of their series with Los Angeles, Texas spilled two and a half games behind.

But clutch hitting has brought them back within a half-game, but will have to face a red-hot team in the Tampa Bay Rays (44-36) to keep the pressure on the Angels.

The Texas Rangers scored 18 runs, 9 in each of the last two games against the Angels, which was an encouraging sign considering they hit just .207 during 11 games in which they lost 8.

Texas showed determination as they weathered a six-run comeback when Los Angeles tied the game with two runs in the top of the ninth, but Hank Blalock responded by nailing a walk-off two run homerun in the bottom of the inning.

Which offense is on display for Texas will likely depend on how well Scott Kazmir (4-4, 7.28) pitches. If it is the 2008 version, the Rangers offense may revert to their slumping ways, if it is the 2009 version, well, the sky could be the limit.

Kazmir did have a solid start in his last outing, after returning from the disabled list, allowing two runs on four hits in five innings of a 3-2 victory over the in-state rival Florida Marlins on Saturday.

The Rays (44-36) dropped their last game of their series in Toronto, being shutout 5-0 on “Canada Day” Wednesday afternoon. It was just the Rays second loss in their last nine games.

Tampa Bay will look to improve at the plate when they face Tommy Hunter (0-1, 3.86) of the Texas Rangers in the series opener on Friday. He pitched well in his last outing, allowing two runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings but picked up the loss as his teammates could not plate any runs in the 2-0 setback to the San Diego Padres last Sunday.

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