ARLINGTON, Texas — Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said Evan Carter is one of the players the club is hoping has a big September after Carter’s leadoff home run in the eighth inning of Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Carter’s home run off Kevin Kelly cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 3-2 at Globe Life Field. Later in the inning, Justin Foscue lined a single to left-center that got between Chandler Simpson and Cedric Mullins and scored pinch-runner Cam Cauley to tie it at 3-3. Jonathan Aranda hit a three-run home run off Jacob Latz in the 10th to win it for the Rays.
The home run was Carter’s 9th of the season. He has 35 RBIs.
Losing late in September stings for Schumaker, and he expects to win, so the losses register more than the wins, he told Rangers Sports Network before Sunday’s game.
“It was a big hit at the time,” Schumaker said. “Got us within one run. We need our guys to go. And Evan is obviously one of those guys that we’re hoping has a really big September.”
Evan Carter’s Season And The 2023 Call-Up
Carter debuted on Sept. 8, 2023, against Oakland and hit .306 with a .413 on-base percentage in 23 regular season games. The Texas Rangers won the World Series that fall.
Back problems limited Carter to 45 games in 2024. In 2025, he played 63 games before a broken wrist ended his season.
In late August, ESPN reported Carter was batting .196. The only qualifying Rangers hitter to finish a non-COVID season under .200 was Jim Sundberg, who hit .199 in 1975, according to ESPN.
Rangers Trail Houston By Three Games With 19 Left
At 70-73, the Rangers sit three games behind Houston in the AL West. They trail Cleveland and Toronto by two games for the American League’s final wild card spot.
Texas won the series opener 6-0 on Thursday, then lost 7-6 on Friday after the Rays came back from a grand slam by Elias Díaz. Saturday’s loss was the second straight decided in the late innings.
MacKenzie Gore started Sunday’s finale at 8-10 with a 4.31 ERA. Tampa Bay started left-hander Ian Seymour, who entered at 9-6 with a 4.21 ERA.
Schumaker took Saturday’s loss home with him and spent the 35-minute drive going over what he could have done to help win the game.
“It was a tough loss last night. There’s no doubt about it,” Schumaker explained. “It stings when you lose late. It stings when you lose right now in September, quite honestly. But the reality is we have another game to play. A quick turnaround the next day. And looking forward to seeing MacKenzie Gore start. This is a chance to split a series against a really good team. And it’s a must-win situation type of game. That’s the feeling that you get every day now in September, and looking forward to watching them play.”
First pitch Sunday was 1:35 p.m. CT at Globe Life Field.
