Less than a month ago, the Texas Rangers traded for Max Scherzer, attempting to bolster their rotation and cement their first-place status well into the dog days of summer. After winning 12 of the first 14 games since the trade deadline, it seemed like the plan worked, surging Mariners be damned!
To celebrate, they went out and lost ten of their next 11 games, lost sole possession of first place for the first time in over 100 days, and generally began to fall apart at the seams. Scherzer, for his part, has been better than he was as a Met, and the Rangers have won four of his five starts.