Thursday night gives the Texas Rangers a real chance to make some noise in the AL West.
They head into the last game of their three-game set with the Boston Red Sox at 76-76, riding a four-game winning streak that dates back to Saturday in Arizona. With Houston also sitting at 76-76 after Wednesday’s action, Texas can move into sole possession of the division lead if it finishes the night one game ahead of the Astros. That matters because Houston holds the head-to-head tiebreaker, so the Rangers need that edge when the season ends in order to win the division, grab the No. 3 playoff berth and host a wild card series.
The opponent is no pushover. Boston comes in at 82-70 and is moving toward a wild card playoff spot. But the Rangers have played with urgency, and this is the kind of stretch where every detail suddenly feels bigger.
Texas also made a pitching change for Thursday. The Rangers originally listed Cody Bradford as the starter, but will instead use Tyler Alexander as an opener. How the rest of the pitching plan unfolds is still unclear, though Texas does have at least four fresh arms available.
There’s also the Joc Pederson question. The Rangers are facing right-hander Sonny Gray, and Pederson said earlier this week that he has a small fracture in his left hand. His status at designated hitter will depend on how much the swelling has gone down, though he wants to keep playing with fewer than 10 games left and a playoff spot still on the line.
The matchup brings a few Rangers bats into focus, starting with Corey Seager. He has gone 3-for-12 against Gray with one RBI, but he’s also swinging a hot bat right now, hitting .310 over his last seven games with two homers and seven RBI. He has five home runs in his last 15 games and six hits in his last three.
Brandon Nimmo has also handled Gray well, going 5-for-16 with two RBI in the matchup. Overall, he’s batting .296 in his last seven games, so he arrives in good form too.
Josh Jung has been another encouraging sign for Texas since returning to the lineup. He’s batting .333 over his last seven games, counting his pre-IL appearances, and has five hits and a walk in his last three. He also went 3-for-5 against Boston on Wednesday.
Thursday’s game is set for 7:05 p.m. The Rangers’ TV broadcast is on Rangers Sports Network and can be streamed on BZZR.
Boston’s broadcast is on NESN. Radio coverage is on 105.3 The Fan and KFLC 1270 for Texas, and WEEI 93.7, WCCM 1490 AM (SP), and WESX 1230 AM (SP) for the Red Sox.
In Other News...
Rangers Make A Pitching Choice That Says Plenty About This Finale
The Rangers are leaning on Cody Bradford for the series finale, and the assignment says plenty about how they want to navigate the end of this stretch. The left-hander will take the ball against Bostons Sonny Gray on extra rest, giving Texas a chance to get through a game that matters without overtaxing a pitching staff that has already had to be managed carefully.
Bradford has been held to limited innings in recent starts, so the Rangers are clearly prepared to monitor him closely and adjust on the fly if needed. With several bullpen options available behind him, Texas is trying to balance winning the finale with keeping enough arms fresh for the games ahead, a calculation that has become part of the rhythm this time of year. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Have One Bullpen Problem They Must Fix For A Late Push
The Rangers have made a habit of turning late leads into wins, and the back end of the bullpen has been a big reason why. Jacob Latz has helped lock things down after the seventh inning, and Texas is 61-1 when it gets ahead at that point, a stat that says plenty about how hard this club has been to beat once it reaches the finish line.
The bigger concern has come earlier, in the middle innings, where the fifth through seventh have been a trouble spot for preserving those advantages. Recent upticks from Chase Silseth, Tyler Alexander and Robert Garcia offer at least a workable path forward, and Texas could use that kind of stability to bridge games more cleanly to Latz as it tries to make its late push. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Turn Tense September Night Into A First-Place Push
A tense September night at Globe Life Field ended with the Rangers back at .500 and back in first place in the American League West, a place they have spent much of the month trying to claw toward. In a come-from-behind win over the Red Sox, Texas got enough from a pitching staff that was asked to keep piecing things together, with MacKenzie Gore and Nathan Eovaldi both covering multiple innings and Jakob Junis helping bridge the middle of the game.
The bigger takeaway for Texas is how much tighter the race has become as the final stretch approaches. The Rangers are tied for first in the division and still right in the mix in the Wild Card chase, which gives every late-inning at-bat a little extra weight. They were sharp with runners in scoring position against Boston, and now they carry that urgency into a September where one good night can change the picture quickly. [Read more 🡒]