The Rangers kept their division fight alive Tuesday, but not without making it harder on themselves.
Texas let a 3-2 lead slip away in a 6-3 loss to the Mets at Globe Life Field, undone by shaky defense and a rough night from Nathan Eovaldi out of the bullpen. With five games left, the Rangers sat at 78-79 and stayed a half-game ahead of the Astros in the American League West, though Houston’s result in Seattle was still pending when the game ended. The Astros led the Mariners 4-0 in the fourth inning at that point.
Texas still has one clear path to the division title: finish ahead of Houston. The Astros own the tiebreaker after going 9-4 against the Rangers this season.
MacKenzie Gore gave Texas a chance to win. He allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits over five innings, striking out two and walking one. He left after 77 pitches with the Rangers in front 3-2.
Then the game turned.
Eovaldi, making his fourth straight relief appearance while working back from an elbow injury, entered with momentum from his first three outings. He had given up just two runs in 7 2/3 innings in that stretch.
This time, the Mets jumped on him immediately. Brett Baty doubled, Carson Benge walked, and after a fielder’s choice, Francisco Alvarez delivered a go-ahead two-run double to center.
Luis Torrens followed with a sacrifice fly, and suddenly New York had a 5-3 lead.
Texas got hit again in the seventh when Robert Garcia allowed an RBI double to Benge and couldn’t finish the inning. By then, the Rangers were chasing 6-3 and never recovered.
The defense didn’t help. The lone official error came in the fourth, when Brandon Nimmo dropped a fly ball after he and Ezequiel Duran converged on it, and a run scored. Later, Torrens’ sacrifice fly in the sixth turned into another messy sequence in foul territory near first base, with Jake Burger hesitating and Alvarez sliding in safely at home in a close play that also involved Danny Jansen.
The Rangers simply can’t afford that kind of slippage. They’ve been living close to the edge for weeks, and Tuesday was another reminder that the margin is razor thin.
The loss also offered one more look at the offseason deal that sent Marcus Semien to the Mets for Nimmo, and the early read still favors Texas. Nimmo came in batting .260 with 14 home runs and 61 RBIs in 149 games, while Semien was at .219 with 14 home runs and 48 RBIs in 134 games. FanGraphs had Nimmo at 1.9 WAR and Semien at -0.4; Baseball Reference showed Nimmo at 1.4 and Semien at 0.3.
Neither player is near his peak, but the Rangers have to feel good about how the trade has aged. Nimmo opened Tuesday’s game with a single to center in the second inning and finished 2-for-4 with a run scored, along with the costly error in the field. Semien went 0-for-5 with a run scored.
Texas is back at it Wednesday night in the second game of the series, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. The Rangers have not announced a starter, while the Mets are sending right-hander Nolan McLean, who is 11-10 with a 3.18 ERA.
In Other News...
Marcus Semien Still Has Strong Feelings About His Rangers Exit
Marcus Semien is still looking back at his Rangers run with appreciation, even after a stretch in which the numbers were not always in his favor. The veteran infielder admitted his final two seasons in Texas did not go the way he wanted statistically, but he also made clear that his time with the club carried plenty of meaning, from the long-term commitment he signed before the 2022 season to the championship payoff that followed.
Semien said he remains proud of what he helped build in Arlington, especially his role in the Rangers 2023 World Series title, and his connection to the area has not disappeared even after the offseason trade to the Mets. He still lives in the Dallas area, which says plenty about how closely his life stayed tied to the franchise and the city, even as his on-field future moved in a new direction. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Just Got Late-Inning Help Back At The Perfect Time
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Macko, acquired at the trade deadline, had appeared in eight games and carried a 6.00 ERA before the Rangers decided to option him out. For a team trying to line up its relief mix with the playoffs approaching, Grays timing matters, and Texas will be hoping he can settle back in quickly after the layoff. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Suddenly Face A Big Joc Pederson Problem In Final Week
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Michael Helmans return gives Texas another moving part to work with, but the bigger roster cost came on the pitching side when Cal Quantrill was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster. Quantrills season is now over because of a lat strain, adding another layer of attrition to a team already sorting through injuries at the worst possible moment. For a Rangers club trying to survive the last week, the absence of Pederson leaves one more hole to patch and one less established option to lean on. [Read more 🡒]