With the start of baseball season, no team is a more apt fit for The Dallas Express Team of the Week title than the defending World Series Champion Texas Rangers.
The Rangers returned to Arlington earlier this week and began a season-opening three-game series with the Chicago Cubs at Globe Life Field, taking home a season-opening, come-from-behind win in extra innings on Thursday night as catcher Jonah Heim, who was involved in a controversial play that gave the Cubs a lead earlier in the game, laced a single into center field with the bases loaded to score Josh Jung.
“It felt great,” Heim told the media after the game. “Whenever you can win a game in the big leagues, it’s a good day. When you feel like you let your team down and you get a chance to win the game, it’s even better. I don’t get that opportunity without the guys in front of me having good at bats and taking their walks. [It was a] big team win tonight.”
The Rangers followed that performance with an 11-run outing on Saturday, scoring six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to break the game open. Six hitters collected at least one RBI, while starting pitcher Cody Bradford allowed just two runs and struck out six in five innings, and the bullpen backed them up with four shutout innings.
“It’s a good lineup, and they just kept the line moving and did some slugging along with it,” manager Bruce Bochy said after Saturday’s performance. “The pitching was outstanding. Cody did a terrific job. He mislocated one fastball, but other than that, he was really good tonight, and the bullpen — what a job they did.”
However, Sunday brought the first loss of the season, as the Cubs loaded the bases and scored four runs in the top of the ninth to come away with a 9-5 win in the series finale.
The Rangers (2-1) will now hit the road for the first time this season as they face the Tampa Bay Rays (2-2) at 5:50 p.m. CT on Monday in the first game of a three-game set. Tampa was the first team Texas eliminated during its playoff run in the fall.
Previous Team of the Week Winners: