ARLINGTON, Texas — With six games left and a one-game lead in the American League West, Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said Monday the club should go take the division rather than wait on it. Young made his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan’s G-Bag Nation during the team’s off day.
Texas (78-78) leads the Houston Astros (77-79) by one game, and Houston holds the tiebreaker between the two clubs. None of the Rangers’ remaining games come against Houston. The New York Mets visit Globe Life Field for three games starting Tuesday, and the regular season closes with three games at the Minnesota Twins from Sept. 25-27.
On Sunday, Texas lost 7-2 to the Toronto Blue Jays. It still took two of three in the series and went 4-2 through the first six games of the homestand.
“That’s the goal here, and I’m certainly proud of the way the team has been fighting and the position we’re in,” Young said. “If you told me at the beginning of the year that with six games left that we’d be a game up and in first place and a chance to win the division, independent of the record, I would tell you I’d sign up for that. And so here we are coming down with six games to go and really excited about the week ahead and looking forward to a fun week.”
The Rangers finished 81-81 in 2025, the first .500 season in franchise history.
Chris Young On Early Leads And The Texas Rangers Bullpen
Texas entered Sunday 21-55 in games in which its opponent scored first. Toronto scored in the first inning Sunday and never trailed.
Through the first five games of the homestand, Rangers relievers posted a 1.84 ERA over 29 1/3 innings. Closer Jacob Latz recorded his 30th save Sept. 15 in a 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox.
“Our group has done a really good job, both offensively and from a pitching standpoint, of prioritizing an early lead,” Young explained. “And our record this year has been very good. When we’ve gotten an early lead and played from ahead, it really changes the way that we can build out a game strategically and the way we can leverage our best arms in the bullpen. And when we’re able to get it to the back of the bullpen, especially when we’re able to get to [Latz] late in the game, we’ve been able to close out those games.
“So the offense coming out early, setting the tone, getting an early lead, frees up the pitching, and likewise the pitching, keeping the opponents down early and allowing the offense the ability to come out and score, has been huge,” Young continued. “So we need to do it again. We’ve got six games to go. We need to do it and come out early, jump on teams and get that lead. And then from there, it does change the sequence of events as well.
“The other team does not use their leverage guys, and they go to their non-leverage pitchers, and it allows us to tack on runs and sometimes even avoid having to use our leverage guys at the end when we win a game,” Young added. “So it’s really important to play from ahead.”
Chris Young’s Focus On The New York Mets Before The Minnesota Twins Trip
Two of the three games at Target Field are day games. First pitch is at 3:10 p.m. CT on Saturday and 2:10 p.m. CT on Sunday, and Friday’s opener starts at 7:10 p.m. CT. Young said shadows in any ballpark “are real, and especially in September, October, when the sun’s a little bit lower in the sky and setting earlier,” though he was not looking that far ahead.
“We’re going to get to a point where we do need to think about that, and we will think about that,” Young said. “And I think to my earlier point of playing from ahead is super important, especially when you have a lead and those shadows creep in. You want to be on the right side of those shadows in terms of trying to protect the lead. And so we’ll get to that point this weekend. My biggest goal is making sure that we stay focused for the Mets and that we take care of business this last homestand.
“And really, while I’m thinking of it, I should really mention how great the crowds were this weekend and how awesome it’s been having our fans rooting us on and the energy that they’ve brought,” Young continued. “And I guess I would speak to our fans right now and say, hey, bring it for three more home games. We need you, and we’re really grateful for the support that we’ve had this year.”
The Rangers are unbeaten in nine straight home series, going 8-0-1. That is the longest such run since Globe Life Field opened in 2020.
Young pitched 13 seasons in the majors and won the 2015 World Series with the Kansas City Royals. He ran the Rangers’ front office when they won the 2023 World Series.
“For me, I can speak from personal experience,” Young said. “The heightened meaning of each game brought out the best in me. And really the game is still the same. It’s one pitch at a time, one at-bat at a time. Nothing changes in terms of that. But when something’s on the line like this, it’s easy to get up for and to be ready for. And so I expect that from our guys.
“And ultimately, the biggest message I would have to our players right now is that let’s go take this,” Young continued. “Let’s not sit back and hope that it happens. Let’s go take it. And if we play with that mentality, I have no doubt that this group can get it done.”
First pitch Tuesday is at 7:05 p.m. CT on Rangers Sports Network. MacKenzie Gore returns from muscle spasms to face left-hander Sean Manaea (5-7, 4.74 ERA). The postseason begins Sept. 29.
