MacKenzie Gore is giving the Rangers exactly what they’ve needed at exactly the right time.
With Texas trying to steady itself after a rough West Coast trip - one that ended with losses in five of seven games against two of the worst teams in MLB - the left-hander has started to look like the frontline arm the Rangers believed they were getting when they paid a steep price to bring him in. The stuff has been there. The consistency has finally started to show up with it.
Over his last four starts, Gore has worked 24 innings, struck out 27 and walked just seven while posting a 2.63 ERA. Texas has won three of those games.
Since July 24, his ERA has dropped from 4.82 to 4.45, a sign that his recent run is more than just a brief hot stretch. He’s getting more swing-and-miss by spotting his 96 mph fastball and pairing it with a slider and change-up that are landing in or near the zone.
Just as important, he’s been avoiding the one bad inning that has too often knocked him off track.
That matters more now because the Rangers’ rotation is suddenly thin. Nathan Eovaldi is on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation, and Jacob deGrom left his last start after two innings because of right triceps fatigue. The team believes deGrom has avoided a serious injury that would force a longer stay on the IL, but there are still real questions about where he stands physically after several shaky outings.
Gore’s recent surge is a welcome answer to that uncertainty. Texas gave up five minor league prospects for him, and the expectation was clear: be a difference-maker, be a stabilizer, be the arm that can carry real weight. After some uneven stretches in 2026, he’s starting to do just that.
The improvement is especially notable because last year told a different story. After making his first All-Star team, Gore faded badly in the second half and finished 5-15 with a 4.17 ERA.
That’s why his current run stands out. He’s not just pitching better in August; he’s showing the kind of finish the Rangers needed to see.
There’s also been a quieter trend underneath all of this. Gore has repeatedly answered the call in tough spots, including a handful of short-rest outings when Texas needed him to cover for deGrom or Eovaldi. Now he’s filling that void in a bigger way, and the timing couldn’t be better for a staff that has lost some of its margin for error.
If the Rangers are going to make a real push, Gore has to keep this going. Eovaldi and deGrom need to get right, too. And if Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford and Joc Pederson can all heat up at once, that would only help Texas’ chances of climbing back into the race.
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