After a successful homestand, the Texas Rangers are packing their bags for one of their most significant road trips of the season. Starting today, the team will visit three cities over the next week and a half, beginning with a three-game series in Houston against the Astros from Friday through Sunday. From there, it's off to Colorado for three games against the Rockies from Monday through Wednesday. After a well-deserved off day on Thursday, the Rangers will wrap up the trip with a weekend series in Anaheim against the Angels.

This journey is notable for a couple of key reasons. First, it's one of only three three-city road trips the Rangers will make all season. The first came in mid-April with a grueling 10-game West Coast swing. Once this current stretch concludes, the only other extended road trip on the schedule is a 10-game trek to Miami, Toronto, and Cleveland starting in late June, with the final game falling on July 1. That means the Rangers will be done with their longest road trips by the start of July, giving them a much smoother ride over the final three months of the season.

Second, the Rangers are catching a lucky break in terms of opponents. They'll be facing the three worst teams in Major League Baseball based on current records. The Astros sit at 17-28, the Rockies are 17-27, and the Angels are 16-28. In fact, these are the only three teams in the majors with a winning percentage below .400 as of this morning. For a team looking to climb back above .500, this stretch presents a golden opportunity.

Despite facing one of the toughest schedules in baseball through the first six weeks, the Rangers have managed to stay afloat. They just wrapped up a winning homestand and now sit at 21-22 on the season. While that's a very middling record, it's good enough to put them just one game back of the Athletics in the A.L. West and tied with the Seattle Mariners for the third Wild Card spot. (And yes, you read that right—the first two Wild Card spots are currently held by the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox!)

Of course, a team doesn't usually gain much ground on a long road trip, even against struggling opponents. But this is the start of a favorable stretch for Texas. Between now and June 18, when they finish a home series against the Twins, the Rangers will face only six games against teams with winning records—a three-game set in St. Louis. For a team that's battled through a tough early schedule, this road trip could be exactly what they need to turn a "very mid" record into something much more promising.