The Texas Rangers are so far ahead in the American League West that you can be forgiven into thinking that their recent struggles are merely a case of them coasting into the playoffs.

While that may be the reason for resting players here and there the Rangers do need to maintain some form if they are going to have any chance of defeating the American League East opponent that awaits them in early October. Injuries to star pitcher Cliff Lee and star outfielder Josh Hamilton have not helped matters but neither have the team’s recent struggles. The Rangers are 3-7 in their last ten games and were only 13-15 in the month of August. They are currently in the middle of a ten game road trip that started well enough with wins in Kansas but has since turned sour as they were swept in a three game series in Minnesota over the weekend.

Looking to stop the rot for the Rangers today is arguably their pitcher of the season, Tommy Hunter. Hunter has had a strong season and is currently 12-2 with a 3.64 ERA, which is a career high in both wins and ERA. In his last three outings he has not allowed more than three earned runs in any game and has managed to pitch at least 7 2/3 innings in two of the three starts. One negative when considering Hunter’s start today is that he is noticeably worse away from Arlington, posting a 3.16 ERA in nine starts at home and 4.29 ERA on the road. His career ERA against the Blue Jays is a scary 7.50 but this will be his first outing against them this season, which is by far the best year of his career.

As far as the Toronto Blue Jays are concerned you have to really feel for the Canadians. If they were in any other division they would be a lot closer to the top that the 15 ½ games that they currently trail the Yankees. The Blue Jays have been one of the best hitting teams in the Majors this season and in Jose Bautista they have a player who leads the League in home runs and may be the only player this year to reach the fifty homer mark.

Ricky Romero takes the mound at the Roger Centre this afternoon and he has been excellent at home this season. The left-hander is 5-3 with a 2.78 ERA at home this season, a record that includes a five hit shutout at home to the Rangers on May 15th. In fact in two outings against Texas this season, Romero has allowed only one earned run in sixteen innings while also striking out twelve in that May shutout. Romero had an outstanding June posting a 2.12 ERA in five games but he did struggle in July with a 6.08 ERA although that is mainly due to one game against the Yankees where he was lit up. Romero has certainly shown that he can overcome what is a strong Rangers line-up but this is September where pitchers do get tired and Romero has pitched more this season than ever before so a shutout may be too much to expect.

These are two pitchers that have the ability to shut down any offense they face but it may be simply a case of which arm will tire first. The Blue Jays are available at 4/6 for the win while the Rangers can be backed at 11/10 at Bluesq.