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Kansas City Royals vs. Texas Rangers Game 15 Open Thread

We hope tonight, Royals bats are bright (clap-clap-clap-clap) deep in the heart of Texas.

By Max Rieper
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Royals travel to the greater Dallas metroplex to play in the horribly antiquated and out-dated* Global Life Park, which has fallen into disrepair after over two decades of Rangers baseball. Thankfully, Arlington taxpayers made the fiscally responsible decision to build a completely new baseball stadium to support a billion dollar company, with completion expected by 2020. Sports!

*-not really

In the meantime, the Royals will have to make due playing in this crummy hellhole* against what has been a quietly successful Rangers franchise. When I was a kid, the Rangers were a bit of a joke in the 70s and 80s, never really coming close to contention at all. Then they had a mini-dynasty of sorts in the AL West in the 1990s, making the playoffs for the first time, and winning three division titles in four years, although always losing to the Yankees early in the playoffs.

*-not really

The team floundered a bit in the 2000s following the mega-deal with Alex Rodriguez, but over the last eight seasons, the franchise has averaged 88 wins per season, had just one losing season, made the playoffs five times with two pennants, and come within a Nelson Cruz catch of their first championship in franchise history.

The team is expected to contend again this year, with a solid lineup mixed with veterans and young players. Andrew Cashner, signed as a free agent last winter, starts for the Rangers. Their biggest issue right now might be the bullpen, with closer Sam Dyson out (and ineffective when healthy), and the controversial Matt Bush getting closing duties for now. This series could be a good one for Royals bats to come alive.

Lineups!

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