For the time being, Texas Rangers starter Cole Hamels and Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta are linked in a way that is quite complimentary to both men. Arrieta continued his season for the ages on Wednesday night in the NL Wild Card game, spinning a masterful complete game 4-0 shutout of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He allowed just four hits while striking out 11 to tie Kerry Wood's Cubs' franchise record for the most strikeouts in a playoff game.

In his last 14 starts, Arrieta is 12-0. Incidentally, the two games that ended up as no decisions resulted in Cubs wins. So when was the last time Arrieta was handed a loss? It came on July 25th, the day Cole Hamels tossed a no-hitter in his final start with the Phillies.

While Hamels hasn't been quite as good as Arrieta down the stretch – really, who has? – the 31-year-old San Diego native has been everything the Rangers could have hoped for when they acquired him at the trade deadline. At the time, the Rangers were 49-52, in third place in the AL West and eight games behind the division leading Houston Astros. But since the day Hamels left the Phillies - the only MLB team he'd ever pitched for - and got to Texas, the Rangers went 39-22 and captured the AL West title.

"When Cole showed up, there were two things for me," explained Rangers' manager Jeff Banister, "The message that he gave in his press conference as he talked about his previous team, the Philadelphia Phillies and what they meant to him and just how thankful he was which shows the integrity and character of the man. Then he started talking about our ball club and what he'd noticed, the grit and the passion. He couldn't wait to assimilate himself inside our clubhouse and start growing with our group of guys which told me there was still a lot left and that he wanted to add value to our ball club."

His arrival had a profound effect on the Rangers, not unlike the impact David Price had on the Blue Jays. The only team more successful than Texas from July 30 onward was the Blue Jays, putting up a record of 41-18. For Toronto, the Price acquisition was always about this year. He is a free agent at the end of the season.

Hamels, on the other hand, remains under contract in 2017 and 2018 at $23.5 million. His contract includes a club option for $20 million in 2019. So at worst, the Rangers would be left with another top-tier pitcher to add to their rotation for at least the next two years. But quickly, things started changing for the better and it became clear it wasn't time for the Rangers to turn the page to 2016 quite yet.

"He's been great. He's had a lot of success when he was with the Phillies, I had the opportunity to watch him pitch quite a bit," said Yovani Gallardo. "He's awesome; he showed up and fit right into the clubhouse helping myself and all the other guys out. You learn a lot from a guy that's been around that long and has had great success. He gave us a big boost to the starting rotation and made us that much better."

"He's had a huge effect. He just goes out there and competes and has been going deep into games," added Texas closer Shawn Tolleson. "He keeps us in every single ball game and when he pitches, we go out there and we win most of the time and that's all you can really ask."

Hamels has made 12 starts for Texas, posting a 7-1 record with an ERA of 3.66. As a team, the Rangers are 11-1 in Hamels's 12 starts. Not unlike the Blue Jays at the trade deadline, the Rangers were a team that had scored a lot of runs but their record did not reflect their offensive prowess. While the eight-game deficit in the division seemed steep, Hamels never felt the Rangers were out of it.

"From the first game that I was able to be a part of I knew the strength that the Rangers had," said Hamels. "I knew they were missing a huge piece with Yu Darvish (Tommy John surgery in March) and what he means to the starting staff but I thought there were enough guys around him that could fill the void. But you really did have to look at the offence and the numbers that guys were putting up."

It was not just his words though. Banister pointed to Hamels's demeanour on the mound as a big reason for the team's turnaround.

"You see it in the games that he goes out and pitches for us and how he attacks different ball teams, but really how much he wants to perform for this ball club," said the manager. "When you look at Cole Hamels, he carries playoff pedigree. What he's meant to our ball club is that initially we were underneath and we were below .500 and nobody was even caring where we were at. People thought we got Cole for next year and beyond. The reality is there was a belief system inside that clubhouse and one that the front office believed in what we were capable of doing and in the core group of players playing every day."

Acquiring Hamels alone though may not have been enough for the Rangers to turn a corner. Reliever Jake Diekman also arrived in Texas in the trade that brought Hamels from Philadelphia. The 28-year-old lefty has been excellent, allowing just five earned runs in 21.2 innings. The next day, GM Jon Daniels picked up Sam Dyson from the Miami Marlins. He's been even better, surrendering just four earned runs over 31.1 innings. Both have helped to solidify the back end of the bullpen.

"I really do firmly believe that the acquisitions in the bullpen have really been what set the tone for our team," said Hamels. "It's just been a tremendous help to know that if you have a lead, the bullpen was going to be able to shut it down."

In terms of a point in the season as to when things started to turn around, Prince Fielder couldn't speak to anything specific.

"I can't really pinpoint it but I know all of a sudden it just became a little more fun," he said. "I don't know when we started feeling better, I guess the wins helped."

If one was to guess, July 30th and 31st would be a good place to start.


Rangers announce Game 3 starter

Banister announced that 24-year-old lefty Martin Perez would get the start in Game 3 of the ALDS against righty Marco Estrada for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Perez made 14 starts for the Rangers, tossing 78.1 innings while posting a record of 3-6 with a 4.46 ERA. He did not face the Blue Jays.

"We like how he pitches," said Banister. "The body of work and how he's thrown the ball lately. We like the fact that he's primarily a ground ball guy. Plus, the opportunity to have another couple of veteran arms available to us here early on in the bullpen if we need them [factored in]."

Derek Holland, another lefty, was thought to be a candidate to get that Game 3 start, but will instead be available along with Colby Lewis out of the bullpen should Gallardo or Hamels struggle early on in the series.

"He was good with it," explained Banister, when asked how Holland took the news. "Obviously he wants to be out there and compete, but I think when you create an environment, a culture with a group of athletes and you're honest with them up front and you have lines of communication open and dialogue and they feel free to say what they feel like they need to say, it becomes a team atmosphere where they're able to handle situations like that much better."

The pitching matchups now set up as righty Yovani Gallardo in Game 1 against lefty David Price, lefty Cole Hamels in Game 2 against righty Marcus Stroman followed by Perez against Estrada in Game 3. Knuckleballer RA Dickey is slated to start Game 4 for the Blue Jays, but the Rangers have yet to announce their starter.


Stroman has a fan in Hamels

Game 2 of the ALDS will feature an intriguing pitching matchup – 24-year-old Marcus Stroman against Hamels – two pitchers with vastly different playoff experience.

For Stroman, it will be his first career playoff start when he takes the hill on Friday afternoon. For Hamels, a World Series champion with the Phillies in 2008, it will be the 14th time he toes the rubber in the postseason, but he can certainly relate to what Stroman will be dealing with when he gets his first taste of playoff action.

"My first time [in the playoffs], you kind of have to [approach it] with 'what do you have to lose'," explained Hamels. "You don't know what success tastes like yet because you haven't had it, you don't know what winning a World Series is like. You're just going out there and enjoying the moment and that's what I did. When you actually know what it's all about, that's when you can kind of get yourself in a little bit of trouble. Thank goodness I've had both ends so I've learned to control what to expect and what not to do. These are the best moments, you truly don't have anything to lose but enjoying it. It's a special time, not a lot of us get to experience this."

Regardless of how Stroman pitches on Friday, he's already won over Hamels as a fan.

"I think you have to give Stroman some serious credit for what he's done this year," said Hamels. "I was in Clearwater just down the street when he injured his knee and for what he's been able to do, it's absolutely tremendous. I think it shows his true character just for the fact of what he was able to do, going to school and playing baseball. That's something that I don't think I could have done so he definitely has something pretty special with him."