Toronto welcomes the homer-happy Rangers for the first time this season. The Jays are simultaneously high and tired after their 18-inning victory and sweep over the West-leading Angels. Meanwhile, the Rangers took three of four in Baltimore, almost mitigating a disastrous four-game sweep at home by Oakland. The Rangers appreciate the Jays for their efforts, but they will try to douse Toronto’s giddiness over the weekend. The team that sweeps this series can reclaim vital ground in the race for the wildcard or division lead.

On to the Advance Scout!

General: Texas leads the all-time series 162-157 and is 32-21 against the Jays since 2000. Toronto leads 44-41 in games played at Skydome. The teams are in fairly similar predicaments regarding postseason play. Texas is 7.5 games behind division-leading Los Angeles and four games out of the wildcard spot. Texas is just an average club but is also close enough to postseason play that they might forego the fire sale that seemed imminent just a few days ago.

Unlike last season, Texas really is winning with offense. The Rangers have an RS+ (index of runs scored adjusted for park) of 105, behind only New York and Boston in the American League. Texas has 21 more homers than any team in baseball and is on pace to break Seattle’s record of 264 set in 1997. Toronto has one player with at least fifteen homers; Texas has seven. The Rangers run infrequently but judiciously, with 35 swipes at a 74% success rate. They trail the entire planet in sacrifice bunts, and, oddly enough, also rank dead last in sac flies.

In terms of ERA+, their rotation ranks 10th in the AL (92) and the bullpen 11th (98). Last year’s AL-best bullpen never had a chance to repeat. Eighth-inning guy Carlos Almanzar suffered an unfathomable tragedy and then pitched poorly before succumbing to Tommy John surgery. Seventh-inning guy Frank Francisco hit the operating room without pitching at all. Texas survived sixty games with their original five starters but has used eight since with increasingly dire results. Listing Wasdin as Sunday’s starter is a guess on my part. Texas might recall not-ready-for-prime-time C.J. Wilson from AA or Juan Dominguez from AAA to take Kenny Rogers’ place.

Five players have played for only Toronto and Texas in their MLB careers: Doug Ault, Tim Crabtree, Tom Evans, Geno Petralli and Matt Williams (no, not that one).

Mark Teixeira: 25 years old and on pace for 46 homers and 136 RBI. Has inexplicably lost his power stroke against lefties. His slugging percentage was one hundred points higher against lefties than righties coming into the season. This year, 27 of his 28 homers are against righties. A converted third baseman who is developing into a superior defender at first.

Alfonso Soriano: Might not be a Ranger by the time you read this. Rumored to be headed to the Mets, Cubs, Yankees, Twins, and possibly the Nippon Ham Fighters. On pace for a career-best 42 homers. Soriano is a phenomenal athlete with concentration issues. He’ll make a highlight-reel stop and let a slow roller split his legs within the same inning. The team’s only legitimate base stealer, but lacks the patience to lead off.

Michael Young: Young seems to improve every year through sheer force of will. On pace for career highs in average, homers and walks and a career low in strikeouts. Has a strong arm but unexceptional range for a shortstop. Ordinarily very streaky, Young has yet to have a bad month at the plate and is hitting well on the road (.325/.384/.480).

Hank Blalock: Those George Brett comparisons are collecting dust in a closet for now. Thus far, Blalock is hitting like Buddy Bell with a few more homers. Not that resemblance to Buddy Bell is cause for embarrassment, but his progress seems stalled. Still, he doesn’t turn 25 until November. Breaking balls from lefties frequently make him look foolish.

Rod Barajas: Might miss the opening game or more with a gash on his arm, courtesy of a gutless spikes-first slide from Sammy Sosa on Wednesday. I was appalled that Texas threw $1.8 million at him in the offseason, but he has pleasantly surprised with a respectable line of .253/.310/.416 and has gunned down 45% of opposing runners.

Kevin Mench: Finally an everyday player after several years of false starts and inexplicably rumored to be trade bait. Texas would seem disinclined to trade a 27-year-old slugging .512 for the minimum wage. Baseball Prospectus rates him as slightly below average in the field, but he has better range and arm than you might think.

Gary Matthews: After napping through the first half of the season (.250/.286/.415), Matthews awoke refreshed and has batted .291/.391/.545 since. A fine fourth outfielder who is overmatched as an everyday player, Matthews is the only legitimate center fielder on the squad with Laynce Nix out for the season.

Richard Hidalgo: Bust. Baseball’s flakiest hitter is on his way to his worst season and will finish it on the Texas bench or with a different club. For now, Texas starts him most of the time in the hope that he’ll catch fire long enough to garner some trade interest. His swing gets longer by the minute.

David Dellucci: Already has set career highs in runs, homers and walks. Dellucci had eye surgery in the offseason and perhaps was also bitten by a radioactive spider. Though the pace has slowed, he’s walked in 18% of his plate appearances and sports a .407 on-base percentage. On the downside, he has taken plenty of pitches for called third strikes. Dellucci doesn’t play against lefties.

Others: Until Adrian Gonzalez rejoined the club, Texas had a bench that would make Joe Torre blush. Gonzalez batted .316/.379/.502 for AAA Oklahoma and might get one or two starts in Toronto. Like Soriano, he might not last the weekend. Mark DeRosa subs for an infielder every ten days or so. Sandy Alomar Jr. caddies for Barajas and may see significant action with Barajas injured.

Chan Ho Park: Has a 7.32 road ERA. Recently bookended a gutsy 7.1-inning, one-run effort against the Yankees with slop-fests against Oakland and Baltimore. Equally likely to shut out Toronto or get pulled by the fourth inning. My wife saw him on television and said: “He’s the emotionally fragile one, right?”

Joaquin Benoit: Failed starter converted to an effective long reliever, now shoved back into the rotation out of necessity. Has a career ERA of 5.95 as a starter. Extremely flyball prone and susceptible to home runs, but also strikes out over eight per nine innings.

John Wasdin: Had an incredible (and incredibly lucky) run of success before reality reared its ugly head. The ultimate replacement-level pitcher. Disastrously homer-prone.

Kenny Rogers: Texas will attempt to get through 2006 without a player being arrested.

Francisco Cordero: 23-of-29 in saves but has turned too many “successful” outings into heart-stopping episodes reminiscent of former Ranger Mitch Williams. Cordero throws as hard as anyone on the planet and features a devastating slider. This season, he’s also allowed several devastating hits at the worst possible moment.

Kameron Loe: A rookie who has inherited the 8th-inning role by default. Loe ought to be a fine reliever in the coming years but he isn’t quite there yet. He doesn’t strike out many batters (4.3 per nine innings).

Brian Shouse: Lefty sidearmer doesn’t allow many hits or walks (1.12 WHIP) but has allowed several on inopportune occasions (4.54 ERA). A groundball-inducer who throws mediocre stuff with a bizarre delivery.

Doug Brocail: A mediocre reliever who throws in too many high-leverage situations. Brocail keeps the ball in the yard and strikes out his share of batters. He also allows 1.63 baserunners per inning.