Saturday has the feel of a hinge point for the Texas Rangers.
After Friday night’s 7-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, Texas is sitting at 70-72 and staring at a tightening playoff race. The Rangers nearly pulled off a comeback from five runs down, but they couldn’t get the tying run home from third base in the bottom of the ninth. That miss stung in more ways than one: Texas dropped two games under .500, slid three games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West, and fell two back of the Cleveland Guardians for the final American League wild card spot.
That’s what makes Saturday’s matchup so important. Another loss would be a major setback, especially if the Astros, the Guardians, or both pick up wins. The Rangers need this one badly.
They’ll hand the ball to Jacob deGrom, who was excellent in his last start. Texas has the right arm on the mound, but the challenge is real: Tampa Bay counters with right-hander Drew Rasmussen, who has been outstanding all season.
The Rays are chasing their own goals, of course. They’re trying to win the AL East and secure the No. 1 seed in the American League playoffs, with home-field advantage looming as a meaningful edge.
Tampa Bay wants this series, too. The difference is that Texas is the club that can least afford to come up short.
Saturday’s game is set for 6:05 p.m.
Rangers: Rangers Sports Network, can be streamed on BZZR; Rays: Rays.TV. Radio coverage will be on Rangers: KRLD 1080, KFLC 1270; Rays: WDAE 95.7 FM, WQBN/1300AM.
The pitching matchup: Rangers RHP Jacob deGrom (10-9, 4.00) vs. Rays RHP Drew Rasmussen (14-5, 2.95).
A few Rangers bats loom large in the game plan, starting with Ezequiel Duran. Only three position players in baseball have a better fWAR than Duran this season, and he’s putting together a strong case for AL Silver Slugger and Gold Glove consideration at utility. He’s been locked in for more than a month, hitting .309/.392/.527 with five home runs and 19 RBI over his last 30 games.
Jake Burger is another name Texas will be watching closely. He’s the only Rangers player with a home run against Rasmussen, and the Rangers are hoping that stays a useful trend. Burger has hit .375 in eight career at-bats against him, with two RBI.
Wyatt Langford is the other key piece the Rangers need to wake up. Over his last seven games, he’s hit just .125/.300/.208 without a home run or RBI. Texas needs more than that if he’s going to stay in the lineup every day, especially after the kind of production he delivered in July, when he slashed .274/.312/.507 with four home runs and 10 RBI.
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Jake Burger was at the center of it, giving the Rangers the kind of pop they have been searching for with a pair of home runs and several key RBIs. The relief work held Tampa Bay down when the game tightened, and Texas added a little more cushion in the late innings before Jakob Junis finished it off with the save. [Read more 🡒]