Starting RF Nelson Cruz had a rough time against Rays’ pitching in the A.L.D.S. as he was 1 for 15 with 1 run scored against them. But, against the Tigers, he has brought his whopping stick. Cruz has played in all four games of the A.L.C.S. and he is 5 for 14 (.357 avg, 1.723 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 4 homers and 9 RBIs. He has already whacked a walkoff Grand Slam in this series and he also cranked a 3-run homer in the 11th inning last night to seal another win for the Rangers. Cruz is trying to get the rest of the team to jump on his back to get to the World Series. He is the only Rangers’ player with a home run in the A.L.C.S. so far.

The Texas Rangers are only hitting .219 with a .612 OPS in the first three games of the playoff series with the Rays. You can’t blame the lack of hitting on catcher Mike Napoli and CF/LF Josh Hamilton. Napoli has played in the first three games against the Rays and he is 4 for 10 (.400 avg, 1.155 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He is really working the Rays’ pitchers for good at bats so far in this series as he is making solid contact every time he hits the ball. Napoli is also playing surprisingly well defensively behind the plate in this series. Josh Hamilton has also played in all 3 games in this series for the Rangers and he is 4 for 11 (.364 avg, .871 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 double and 2 RBIs. The Rangers need these two guys to keep up the good work.

33-year old lefty swinging CF Endy Chavez has taken advantage of injuries in the Rangers’ outfield to re-establish himself as a quality major league outfielder. Chavez has played in 82 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 77 for 256 (.301 avg, .749 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 5 homers, 27 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He has now played in 909 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 682 for 2,493 (.274 avg, .686 OPS) with 326 runs scored, 24 homers, 217 RBIs and 97 stolen bases. Chavez is going to make the post-season roster for the Rangers and he might get some quality P.T.

29-year old lefty swinging outfielder David Murphy is ripping the ball lately for the Texas Rangers. In his last 12 games, Murphy is 18 for 44 (.409 avg) with 9 runs scored, 3 homers, 12 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 100 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 86 for 328 (.262 avg, .698 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 8 homers, 35 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Murphy was sleepwalking most of this season with the bat, but the Rangers don’t care as long as he rips the ball the rest of the year.

29-year old righty swinging 2B Ian Kinsler’s batting average is down a bit, but he has still been very productive for the Rangers in 2011. Kinsler has played in 129 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 126 for 515 (.245 avg, .788 OPS) with 92 runs scored, 21 homers, 60 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. This is the 3rd time in Kinsler’s first six years that he has had at least 20 homers and 20 steals in the same season. One of those years, he was a 30/30 man. The Rangers need Kinsler to finish this season strongly.