Regardless of what was to happen Sunday afternoon, and it did not go well, the Texas Rangers were assured of coming home with no worse than a .500 record after one-third of their 2020 season.
Twenty games have been played, and the Rangers have gone 10 up and 10 down.
It's a stunning development.
Only 10 days ago the Rangers were 3-8 in a shortened season where every game matters. Their bullpen and offense were among the worst in the game, and injuries were thinning out the roster.
The season is even shorter now, and the Rangers are a contender for the expanded postseason even though they remain a flawed team.
They showed that Sunday in a 10-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
But the Rangers have been a better team, and there is room to improve. The question is if they can continue trending the right way.
"I'm a guy that looks ahead a little bit and understands we want to win the division, don't get me wrong," first baseman Todd Frazier said. "But getting into the playoffs, it's anybody's game. We're doing well. We're not even clicking on all cylinders, and that's the best part of it."
That was evident in all three games at Coors Field, where they played lousy defense and didn't hit well with runners in scoring position but still managed to win the series.
Some misplays behind Kolby Allard led to their undoing Sunday. The Rockies scored five in the second inning, wiping out a Rougned Odor two-run homer, but the Rangers should have posted a scoreless inning.
Odor threw wildly to first base while trying to complete an inning-ending double play on what would have been a close play. The inning was extended, and Ryan McMahon launched a three-run homer two batters later.
The Rockies added another run when Odor and first baseman Derek Dietrich allowed a pop-up to fall between them. Colorado scored two in the fifth as the Rangers played more dicey defense.
"If we turn that double play, everything is different," manager Chris Woodward said. "It hasn't been great. I'm not going to be shy about it. We've got to play better defense, especially if we want to contend. That's just a fact. That's the bottom line."
So, there's one area where the Rangers must improve, and they could do it in a variety of ways. They could be a week away from seeing Danny Santana return to center field if his arm strength continues to improve.
He was healthy enough to come off the injured list Sunday, though he can only play first and second base. Once he can play center field, that would allow Nick Solak to move to left or second, where the Rangers haven't been steady with the glove.
The offense has been better, though there wasn't a high bar to clear. Odor and Joey Gallo, who have both struggled, connected for home runs Sunday, and the Rangers had 15 base runners Saturday in their 6-4 victory.
Frazier, Solak and Isiah Kiner-Falefa have been the Rangers' most consistent hitters, and Shin-Soo Choo has started to click at the top of the batting order. Shortstop Elvis Andrus looks to be on the verge of breaking through, and catcher Jose Trevino might be able to give the bottom of the lineup a jolt.
Allard's outing Sunday isn't a fair representation of how the starting rotation has performed. Lance Lynn is an early Cy Young candidate, especially after his complete game two-hitter Friday, and Kyle Gibson followed Saturday with his best start with the Rangers.
Mike Minor is scheduled to pitch Tuesday, and the 2019 All-Star will do so without the same pitch-count limitations that limited him to only four scoreless innings last week against Seattle.
Those are all improvements from the 3-8 start.
"Even though we won only three games, no one gave up on the season," Choo said. "This season is a very special season, very crazy, very weird. You don't know what's going on, especially in our division. No one's hot, other than Oakland. We still have a chance to make the postseason.
"Little by little, the bullpen is getting better, the starting pitching is getting better, and finally the offense is starting to hit more. Right now, I feel like all the pieces are coming together."
But they're not all together yet.
