The Texas Rangers finally got what they’ve been chasing: the top spot in the American League West all to themselves.
Texas moved into sole possession of first place on Saturday with a 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, while the Houston Astros fell 6-3 to the Atlanta Braves. With seven games left, the Rangers now control the division race for the first time in weeks.
Josh Jung gave Texas an early jolt with a solo home run in the first inning, and the offense kept building from there. The Rangers added two runs in the second and then blew the game open with three more in the sixth. Danny Jansen and Wyatt Langford each doubled as part of the attack.
The pitching side had to weather an early setback when starter Cal Quantrill left in the second inning because of right lat tightness. The bullpen handled the rest from there, with Jordan Montgomery delivering 3.2 scoreless innings to steady things. Nathan Eovaldi, Robert Garcia, Chase Silseth and the rest of the relief group finished the job.
The win, paired with Houston’s loss, also pushed Texas’ magic number to seven for clinching a playoff berth. Since the Rangers now hold the AL West lead by themselves, that number reflects a combination of Texas wins and Astros losses.
It’s a notable turn for a club that had been inching toward the top. The Rangers last held any kind of solo lead in the division on Aug. 24, when they were up by one-half game. Before that, their last one-game lead came on July 29, and that stretch ended with a sweep at the hands of Houston that dropped Texas 2.5 games back.
The Rangers are also back over .500 for the first time since Aug. 10, when they won at the Los Angeles Angels. They lost the next day and spent a month below that mark, though they did reach .500 several times before Saturday.
Texas has one more game left against Toronto before a day off Monday. After that, the Rangers return home for a three-game series against the New York Mets. They’ve gone 4-1 so far on this nine-game homestand and remain one of the best home teams in baseball.
Houston still has one more game against Atlanta on Sunday as it tries to avoid a sweep. The Astros are off Monday, then head to Seattle for two games before a four-game set at the Athletics. Texas closes the season at Minnesota.
The race is still alive, but for the moment, the Rangers are the ones in command.
In Other News...
Rangers Suddenly Have A Rotation Concern They Couldn't Afford
Cal Quantrills night against the Blue Jays ended quickly, and not in a way the Rangers could have welcomed in the middle of a pitching staff that needs every healthy arm it can get. The right-hander was pulled in the second inning after reporting tightness in his right lat, a departure made more alarming by the noticeable dip in his fastball velocity before he left the game.
The Rangers responded by recalling lefty Adam Macko to help cover the bullpen after Quantrills abbreviated outing, but the larger concern is what comes next for a rotation that can ill afford another interruption. For a club already trying to manage its pitching depth, any injury that surfaces with that kind of warning sign forces an immediate wait-and-see approach, and the timing could hardly be worse. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Overcame An Early Rotation Scare In A First-Place Win
The Rangers handled the Blue Jays 6-2 and got the kind of all-around win that matters in a tight division race. Texas jumped out early, held the lead throughout, and kept enough pressure on Toronto to move back above .500 while climbing into first place in the American League West.
Cal Quantrills injury created an early rotation scare, but the Rangers did not let it turn into a game-shifting problem. Jordan Montgomery and the rest of the pitching staff picked up the slack, steadying things after the abrupt change and giving Texas a win that carried some real weight beyond the box score. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Are Getting AL West Help From Two Unlikely Arms
The Rangers have gotten an unexpected boost in the middle of the AL West race from two arms that were not exactly penciled in to carry this kind of weight. Trevor Williams gave Texas four scoreless innings in relief in a win over the Blue Jays, while Jordan Montgomery came in behind an injured teammate and fired 3.2 hitless innings to pick up his first win of the season. For a club trying to protect its place atop the division, those kind of outings can matter just as much as a big night from the lineup.
Williams and Montgomery have both become part of the recent story of Texas pitching, even if their paths to impact looked a lot different than anyone would have expected. The Rangers do not need surprises to last forever, but they do need them to hold long enough to keep the cushion in the standings intact, and those two have at least given the staff a lift when it needed one. [Read more 🡒]