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Three playoff contenders that mirror Cardinals teams of the past
By Curt Bishop
Texas Rangers
The Rangers are an interesting team this year. For much of the season, they led the AL West before the Astros and Mariners got hot and took the top spot from them. But they still have a shot to chase down an AL West title.
How are they similar to the Cardinals you ask? Well, consider that in 2011, the Cardinals made their championship run without Adam Wainwright. He was out for the season due to Tommy John surgery, and the Cardinals were forced to rely heavily on Chris Carpenter.
Texas has both Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer on the injured list, and they are both out for the season. However, their pitching staff is not doomed. Like the 2011 Cardinals, they have a frontline guy at the top of the rotation, that being Nathan Eovaldi.
He's a guy that can pitch in big games and be counted on when circumstances are dire. Texas also has Montgomery, Dane Dunning, Jon Gray, Martin Perez, and Andrew Heaney who can start. They still could be a dangerous team this October and surprise some people.