The Rangers had one of those nights that never really found its footing. A 10-5 loss to Baltimore featured a rough opening inning for Kumar Rocker, a shaky middle from Jordan Montgomery, and too many missed chances for Texas to claw its way back.
Rocker’s first inning turned on a mistake that should have been erased. After Pete Alonso singled and Jackson Holliday doubled to put runners at second and third with one out, Rocker got Tyler O’Neill swinging.
Then Dylan Beavers chopped a hard grounder down the first-base line that Jake Burger handled well. It looked like it should have ended the inning on a 3-1 putout, but Rocker didn’t cover first.
That opened the door for an RBI infield single, and Leody Taveras followed with a double to make it 2-0 Baltimore.
The damage only got worse from there. Baltimore hit two home runs in the next inning, and those five runs quickly made the game feel out of reach.
Montgomery made his 2026 debut, but the velocity concerns were still front and center. He averaged 90.4 mph with his fastball and 89.5 mph with his sinker over 79 pitches. For comparison, he averaged 92.1 mph and 91.8 mph on those pitches in 2024, and 93.2 mph and 93.3 mph in 2023.
He allowed three runs in four innings, including a pair of homers, one of which scored the Kumar Rocker walk that Montgomery inherited. Even with the final line, it felt like he got out with a little help from the scoreboard.
Cole Winn handled the last two innings, but it wasn’t exactly a clean finish. He walked three, gave up two hits, and issued a bases-loaded walk before working out of a jam in the ninth with two strikeouts and a fly out. That kept the inning from getting even uglier, but it didn’t do much to calm any nerves.
Texas had some moments early. The Rangers had two on with one out in the second, and Brandon Nimmo’s three-run homer with two outs in the third briefly brought some life back into the game.
Baltimore answered with more runs, though, and Texas kept running into empty innings after that. They put two on in both the fourth and sixth and came away with nothing.
The ninth finally brought a little offense. Cam Cauley walked, Nicky Lopez tripled, and an RBI groundout added a couple of late runs, but by then the margin was too wide.
Texas finished 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, and the lone hit was Nimmo’s homer. That was the story of the night: chances wasted, rallies cut short, and a deficit that kept getting bigger.
There was at least some help elsewhere. Houston lost, so Texas is now just a half-game back in the West.
Cleveland and Minnesota also lost, leaving Texas 1.5 games back in the Wild Card race. Detroit won, which puts the Tigers a game behind Texas.
As for the pitch data, Rocker reached 96.8 mph with his fastball and averaged 95.1 mph. Montgomery’s fastball topped out at 91.6 mph. Winn touched 97.2 mph.
At the plate, Brandon Nimmo’s home run came off the bat at 107.1 mph. Justin Foscue had a 104.1 mph single, Ezequiel Duran posted a 102.4 mph groundout, and Jake Burger’s single was hit at 100.8 mph.
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