Kim Klement – USA TODAY sports
If you would have told the Texas Rangers way back at the end of July that Matt Garza would be 0-3 with a 8.22 ERA in his first three starts in the month of September, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels would have never brought Garza to town. Even still, the Rangers are stuck with the hot-headed right hander for now, and the soon-to-be free agent was rather impressive on Saturday.
The Rangers needed a win against the surging Kansas City Royals, but with a recently maligned Garza on the hill, Texas was skeptical to say the least. However, the Lone Star State was pleasantly surprised as Garza went eight solid innings and allowed just one earned run. On top of that, Garza only surrendered five hits, which means that he was hitting his spots on Saturday.
One thing is for certain; the Rangers have no hope of returning to the World Series if Garza doesn’t give the team quality starts from here on out. Unfortunately, Garza has a 4.94 ERA since being acquired by Texas in July. The silver lining here is the fact that Garza has stepped up big when it has mattered most — Garza won the 2008 ALCS MVP for his efforts with the Tampa Bay Rays and has a postseason ERA of 3.48.
While it may seem like a blanket statement it’s true; if Garza doesn’t pitch like he did for the Rays in 2008 then the Rangers’ World Series hopes can be flushed down the drain.
Devin O’Barr is the Content Commentator for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DevinOBarrRS, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
