ARLINGTON, Texas — Cal Quantrill threw 7 scoreless innings Tuesday night in his second start since returning to the Texas Rangers rotation. Texas beat the Washington Nationals 5-0 at Globe Life Field to open a three-game series.
Quantrill gave up 4 hits, walked none, and struck out 5. He threw 91 pitches, 61 of them for strikes, and faced 25 batters. The win moved him to 5-4 with a 3.13 ERA.
Texas scored in each of the first three innings. Wyatt Langford came home with the game’s first run on Jake Burger‘s double-play grounder in the first. An inning later, Justin Foscue drove a 1-out pitch from Jackson Kent over the left field wall for a 400-foot solo home run, his eighth of the season.
Three more runs followed in the third. Brandon Nimmo‘s fielder’s choice scored Langford, and Washington challenged the call and lost the review. Corey Seager scored when Foscue drew a bases-loaded walk. Cody Freeman then lined a 2-out RBI single to make it 5-0. Freeman finished 2-for-3 with a walk, and the RBI was his first of the season.
Freeman also made a diving stop at third base in the first inning, after CJ Abrams opened the game with a double.
Cal Quantrill’s Second Start Since Returning to the Rotation
Quantrill moved back into the rotation on Aug. 10, the day Nathan Eovaldi went on the 15-day injured list with right posterior elbow inflammation. Two days before that, Quantrill had worked one game out of the bullpen against the Baltimore Orioles at Globe Life Field. That move followed Cody Bradford‘s return from a long rehab from UCL surgery.
Tuesday was Quantrill’s longest scoreless outing in more than two years. He threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings for the Colorado Rockies against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 3, 2024.
Quantrill signed a minor league deal with Texas last offseason and opened the year at Triple-A Round Rock. He had missed weeks of camp in Surprise to pitch for Team Canada at the World Baseball Classic. The Rangers brought him up in mid-April and used him mostly as a long relief option.
His first start of 2026 came June 23 in Miami, a 2-inning outing in which he allowed 1 earned run. His pitch counts over his first five starts ran 34, 55, 66, 79, and 86. In 26 appearances this season, Quantrill has made 17 relief outings and 9 starts.
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said Texas went first to third three times Tuesday, and that taking those bases is something the club has to do at this point of the season.
“Really impressive,” Schumaker said. “CJ Abrams with the leadoff double. And then Cody Freeman had a big play in the first inning. I think that was a big momentum-changing play. Diving play kept him from scoring. And then we ended up scoring, obviously, in the first inning.”
“But Cal to go seven innings to start this series after an off day was huge,” Schumaker continued. “I asked for a really good start, and I asked for offense to give them cushion. And both sides accomplished that, and it was just a really good overall game.”
Schumaker said Quantrill went to the minors, made the most of the opportunity, came up as the long man, worked leverage innings at times, and closed out a game before need pushed him into the rotation.
“It was a hard conversation to tell him he’s not in the rotation anymore because Bradford’s now healthy,” Schumaker explained. “And then a week later we throw him back in there. That is not easy. The entire time all he said was like, ‘I get it, I trust you.’ He’s been a pro about every single move; whether he’s liked it or not, he understood it. He doesn’t have to like those conversations, but I think he trusts us enough that we have his best interest and our best interest to do whatever we can to win.”
Schumaker said Seager dove into second base Tuesday and has been doing everything he can to stay on the field. Seager went 2-for-4 with a double, his ninth, and scored a run.
“Honestly, he’s been phenomenal,” Seager said. “It’s really not easy to do, either. He competed for a job, made it as a long guy, and then to build up as a starter, making starts in spots that we need to win, and he’s done an absolutely phenomenal job. That was a huge start for us today.”
Quantrill has changed roles four times since April.
“It’s not the most ideal outcome, but it’s baseball,” Quantrill said. “You get what you earn and I think that this has been an opportunity to become a better pitcher, and reestablish myself and prove that I can pitch deep into games, but I can also be good out of the ‘pen.”
“I knew what I was signing up for here,” Quantrill continued. “I think we’re aligned on what our goals are, and that’s to go to the playoffs. I will do whatever is necessary to do that. But it feels good to be back in the rotation and starting to settle into a groove. I thought it all kind of came together today.”
Justin Foscue’s Eighth Home Run and the Rangers’ Third Inning
Foscue had not homered since July 9 against the Los Angeles Angels. He fouled off five pitches in Tuesday’s at-bat before he connected, per the Rangers Sports Network broadcast. Foscue is batting .257 with a .795 OPS.
The bases-loaded walk in the third gave Foscue 2 RBIs on the night and 23 for the season. Joc Pederson pinch-hit for him in the fifth and popped out.
Texas finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 8 on base. The Rangers grounded into 3 double plays, one each by Burger, Langford, and Seager.
Foscue said he has tried to stay present and keep the pressure off himself, and that he has grown more comfortable the longer he has been up.
“I don’t really know how I did that,” Foscue said. “I’m trying to do the same thing I’ve been doing all year. So I’m happy I didn’t miss that pitch. I had a good at-bat, fouled some pitches off, and then connected on that last one. It feels good. But just trusting the process. I don’t really know what I did different today.”
Foscue said Quantrill did his thing, and that the Rangers got on base and delivered clutch hits.
“We just found a way to get some across,” Foscue explained. “These guys are really good. We work hard every day. We want to produce in every moment possible, and we understand what’s at stake. I don’t even know what I’m trying to say. We’re trying to make the playoffs. Every at-bat matters. Every situation matters. And we’ve got about 30-some games left.”
Texas Rangers Bullpen and Wednesday’s Pitching Matchup
Robby Ahlstrom recorded 2 outs in the eighth and gave up a single to Nasim Nuñez and a ground-rule double to pinch-hitter Andrés Chaparro. Jakob Junis came on and struck out José Tena on 3 pitches to strand both runners. Tyler Alexander worked the ninth and allowed 1 hit and 1 walk.
Kent, a left-hander, took the loss and fell to 0-1. He lasted 3 2/3 innings, gave up 8 hits and 5 earned runs, walked 3, and struck out 3. Trevor Williams followed with 3 1/3 innings and struck out 5, and Yovanny Cruz pitched the eighth. Washington went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, left 8 on base, and has now lost 5 straight.
The teams combined for 4 challenges of ball-strike calls. Langford, Danny Jansen, and Dylan Crews each had a call overturned, and a challenge by Harry Ford was confirmed.
The game took 2 hours and 34 minutes in front of 22,126 at Globe Life Field. The roof was closed with the temperature at 74 degrees. Chad Fairchild worked home plate.
Texas is 62-64 and second in the American League West. Washington is 60-67 and fourth in the National League East.
The teams meet again Wednesday at Globe Life Field. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. CT on Rangers Sports Network. Kumar Rocker starts for the Rangers at 4-9 with a 4.50 ERA, and Cade Cavalli goes for Washington at 10-5 with a 3.36 ERA. Rocker takes the rotation spot of Jacob deGrom, who remains day to day after leaving his Aug. 13 start with right triceps fatigue.
