The Rangers opened their final homestand of the season with a win they badly needed, hanging on for a 4-2 victory over the Red Sox behind Jacob deGrom and a bullpen that had to finish the job.
Texas got the night started the way it wanted, jumping out to a 4-0 lead before Boston ever found its footing. deGrom, making the start in the opener of the three-game set against the AL Wild Card leaders, worked five innings and at times looked like he was grinding through his 92 pitches. Still, he limited the damage to one big swing from Nick Sogard, who hit a two-run homer from the No. 9 spot after the Rangers had already built the cushion.
The strange part of the night was how much of that cushion came and went without being seen by at-home viewers on Rangers Sports Network. Every Texas run scored during a stretch when the broadcast feed was down, turning the rally into something of a mystery for anyone not in The Shed. By the time the telecast came back, the Rangers had already done the damage.
The scoring started with two outs and runners aboard when Elias Diaz doubled in the first runs of the game. Then, as the broadcast shifted away to a segment with Elvis Andrus and Jared Sandler learning the two-step and later trying the Dot Race, Danny Jansen and Justin Foscue each worked two-out walks. Corey Seager then got a gift on a blooper to shallow center, with Trevor Story seemingly in position before the ball drifted beyond him and two more runs crossed.
Boston’s response came in the third, when Sogard’s homer cut it to 4-2. After that, the game settled into a scoreless crawl and never moved again.
That meant Texas had to survive four innings without deGrom, and the bullpen handled a full night’s worth of work. Chase Silseth delivered a scoreless sixth, Tyler Alexander matched him in the seventh, and Robert Garcia took over setup duties in the eighth before running into traffic.
Jacob Latz then came in with one out and the bases loaded, facing Wilyer Abreu with two on. He got the ground ball he needed, intentionally walked Trevor Story, and then struck out pinch hitter Andruw Monasterio to escape the jam. Latz came back for a clean ninth and earned his 30th save of the season, finishing off a five-out effort that once again gave Texas exactly what it needed late.
The Rangers did not gain ground on Houston or Cleveland, since neither club lost. But Toronto did, and that allowed Texas to move ahead of the Blue Jays as the closest challenger behind the Guardians for the final Wild Card spot, now sitting a game and a half back.
Player of the Game: Latz once again went the extra mile with a five-out save as he continues to be an x-factor, multi-inning weapon at the end of games for the Rangers if they can get to him with a lead.
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Rangers Make A Pitching Choice That Says Plenty About This Finale
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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
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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
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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 🡒]