The Texas Rangers got what they needed Sunday at Globe Life Field: a win, a split with Tampa Bay, and a winning homestand to carry into an off day and a six-game trip that starts Tuesday in Seattle.
Texas beat the Rays, 8-6, after staring at a 5-1 deficit heading into the bottom of the fourth. That’s when the Rangers flipped the game.
Jake Burger delivered a two-RBI home run, Justin Foscue followed with a two-RBI double, and suddenly the game was tied. In the fifth, Texas pushed ahead for good on RBI singles from Elias Diaz and Ezequiel Duran.
The Rangers didn’t exactly coast from there, but they did enough to finish the job.
At 71-73, Texas still has plenty of ground to make up, and with nine home games and nine road games left, every chance to gain on Houston matters. Sunday at least gave the Rangers a little help. The Astros lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the final game of their three-game series, leaving Houston’s magic number to clinch a playoff berth in a holding pattern and giving Texas a small opening in the AL West chase.
Houston has now dropped two straight, and the road ahead is tougher than the one facing Texas. The Astros are off Monday and then head to Philadelphia for three games before a three-game set at Tampa Bay. The Rangers, meanwhile, are staring at a different kind of challenge, even if they’ve been under .500 on the road this year.
There’s also the tiebreaker wrinkle hanging over the division race. If the Rangers and Astros finish tied atop the AL West, Houston gets the playoff berth.
Elsewhere in the American League, the Guardians beat the Tigers to finish their four-game series, and the Blue Jays lost to the Royals after tying Cleveland for the final wild card spot on Saturday. That pushed Cleveland back into position for the last AL wild card berth and lowered its magic number to clinch a playoff berth to 18.
For Texas, the best result was simply not losing ground. The Rangers remain two games back, and they also hold the season series over Cleveland, which could matter later. They still have three games left against Toronto at home from September 18-20.
In Other News...
Rangers Trade Deadline Gamble Already Looks More Costly Than Expected
When the Rangers made their August 3 deal with Toronto, the move was framed as a chance to reshuffle the roster and add a left-handed arm in Adam Macko while parting with Josh Smith. It was a classic deadline bet on fit and upside, the kind of transaction that can look tidy on paper if the new piece settles in and the outgoing player becomes the price of doing business.
Instead, Smith has hit well since arriving in Toronto, while Macko has had a rougher run in both Triple-A and the majors, leaving the Rangers with little immediate return to show for the swap. Smiths injury history still clouds the long view, and that is where Texas has to hope the deal can age better than it has started, because the early read gives the Blue Jays the clearer win and leaves the Rangers waiting to see whether Macko can offer anything close to the value they gave up. [Read more 🡒]
Nathan Eovaldi Return Leaves Rangers With One Huge Rotation Question
Nathan Eovaldis return is getting closer, and the Rangers are already mapping out how to use him once hes back. He threw nearly 40 pitches in a bullpen session and is due for a live bullpen soon as he continues working toward activation from the injured list, with the club looking for a way to get his arm back into the mix without pushing him too hard too soon.
The Rangers are leaning toward a limited role for Eovaldi, which could mean anything from a bulk-relief look to a short-inning start, depending on how his recovery unfolds. Elsewhere, Kyle Higashioka has started a minor league rehab assignment with restrictions, Josh Jung is preparing for one after his calf strain, and Jack Leiter is still rehabbing with no clear answer yet on whether hell make it back this season. [Read more 🡒]
Ezequiel Duran Is Giving The Rangers An MVP Debate Fans Didn't Expect
Ezequiel Duran has quietly turned himself into one of the most valuable players on the Rangers roster, and it has happened in the way this club has come to appreciate most: by doing a little bit of everything. He has moved around the diamond, held his own defensively wherever hes been asked to play and backed it up with an offensive season strong enough to put him in the same conversation with some of the American Leagues biggest names.
Thats not the kind of MVP chatter Rangers fans expected to be having, especially with Yordan Alvarez and Bobby Witt Jr. usually occupying the center of those debates. Still, Durans all-around impact matters in a stretch where Texas is trying to keep pace after splitting with the Rays and sitting two games back in both the AL West and Wild Card races, because players who can cover ground and create value in more than one way tend to matter most when the margins get tight. [Read more 🡒]