ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers named MacKenzie Gore their starter for Tuesday night’s game against the New York Mets at Globe Life Field, bringing the left-hander back six days after muscle spasms in his back and shoulder cut short his last start.
First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. CT on Rangers Sports Network. Left-hander Sean Manaea (5-7, 4.74 ERA) goes for New York in the opener of a three-game series that closes the Rangers’ final homestand of the regular season.
Texas (78-78) leads the Houston Astros (77-79) by one game in the American League West with six games left. Houston holds the tiebreaker between the two clubs, and none of the Rangers’ remaining games come against the Astros. Both teams were off Monday.
MacKenzie Gore’s Return From Muscle Spasms
In the second inning Sept. 16 against the Boston Red Sox, Gore grabbed at his back after a 2-1 pitch, MLB.com reported. Schumaker, pitching coach Jordan Tiegs, and head athletic trainer Matt Lucero went to the mound, and Gore stayed in the game.
Over 4-plus innings, Gore allowed 2 hits and 3 earned runs, walked 3, and did not strike out a batter. He went back out for the fifth and did not record an out. Of his 69 pitches, 36 went for strikes, and Texas won 7-3.
The spasms were affecting Gore’s control, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said after that game. He compared them to what happened at Coors Field in May, when Gore came out after one inning against the Colorado Rockies on May 18 with left lat tightness.
On Saturday, Gore told Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News that he planned to make his next start as long as the next few days of throwing went fine. The spasms were still a day-to-day matter, Gore said, and he believed the Rangers had figured out how to keep them from coming back.
A day later, Gore played catch at Globe Life Field. Before Sunday’s series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays, Schumaker said the club would see how Gore looked and felt after the session before picking a day, and that he hoped Gore would start this week.
MacKenzie Gore’s 2026 Season And The Texas Rangers’ Rotation
On Sept. 11 at Chase Field, Gore pitched 4-plus innings and allowed 5 hits and 4 earned runs, with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts, in a 9-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. All 4 runs came in the fourth inning, when Arizona hit four doubles. Five days earlier at Globe Life Field, the Tampa Bay Rays got 8 hits and 5 earned runs off him in 3 innings, and he walked 3 and struck out 1.
In 20 innings over his last five starts, Gore has allowed 17 earned runs, walked 17, and struck out 11. The last time he completed 6 innings was Aug. 21 against the Los Angeles Angels, when he allowed no earned runs and struck out 7.
For the season, Gore is 8-11 with a 4.67 ERA and 172 strikeouts in 165 2/3 innings. His 32 starts are tied for the most in the majors. His strikeout total ranks 10th in the American League.
Texas acquired Gore from the Washington Nationals on Jan. 22 in exchange for five prospects. He made the National League All-Star team with Washington in 2025, when he set a career high with 185 strikeouts. Gore is making $5.6 million this season on a one-year deal.
Cal Quantrill left Saturday’s start after 1 1/3 innings with right lat tightness and went on the 15-day injured list Sunday. In Sunday’s 7-2 loss to Toronto, Jacob deGrom pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed 5 hits and 3 earned runs, with 4 walks and 2 strikeouts. Jack Leiter, on the 60-day injured list after ankle surgery, threw his first bullpen session Sunday morning at Globe Life Field.
On the homestand, Texas is 4-2 after going 2-1 against Boston and taking two of three from Toronto. After Sunday’s loss, Schumaker said the Rangers fought and played hard even without the sweep.
“We won a series, a good series win against a tough team. Yeah, of course you would have liked to have swept and got a win,” Schumaker said. “We didn’t, but these guys fought and played hard. If you would have told me we won the first two series of the homestand, I would have taken it. And we did just that.
“And we have an off day, a much-needed off day, with a lot of these guys are feeling it a little bit,” Schumaker continued. “So hopefully we can come back and feel refreshed and play a really good Mets team that’s playing really good right now.”
New York is last in the National League East under interim manager Andy Green and has been eliminated from postseason contention. The Mets lost 7-2 to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday at Citi Field and split the four-game series.
The Rangers have not announced starters for Wednesday’s 7:05 p.m. CT game or Thursday’s 1:35 p.m. CT series finale, when Nolan McLean pitches for the Mets. Texas closes the regular season with three games at the Minnesota Twins from Sept. 25-27.
