ARLINGTON, Texas — Four Texas Rangers relievers faced 13 New York Mets hitters over the final four innings Thursday and allowed 1 hit. Texas won 3-1 at Globe Life Field, one day after its bullpen gave up 5 runs in the eighth and ninth innings of a 7-2 loss.
The win moved the Rangers (79-80) a half-game ahead of the Houston Astros in the American League West with three games left. Houston holds the head-to-head tiebreaker and plays later Thursday night.
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker pulled starter Kumar Rocker after 5 innings and 74 pitches. Rocker had allowed 1 run on 3 hits, with the run coming in the first inning.
“Leadoff double to Lindor and then two-out hit. [That was] to start the first inning,” Schumaker said. “You’re trying to figure out what this is going to look like, quite honestly. And then for him to go four scoreless after that was huge for us, because the way I’ve been deploying the bullpen, these guys are on fumes.”
“They’re just going on guts right now,” Schumaker continued. “And I couldn’t appreciate them more the way they’re going about it. So for him to get five and not four today was huge. And then the bullpen did a fantastic job keeping it at one run.”
Relievers Cover The Final Four Innings For Skip Schumaker
Left-hander Robert Garcia retired the top of the Mets’ lineup in order in the sixth. Tyler Alexander worked around a one-out single in the seventh, and Chase Silseth struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced in the eighth.
Last Saturday, Texas relievers covered 7 2/3 innings after starter Cal Quantrill left in the second inning with right lat tightness. Jordan Montgomery threw 3 2/3 hitless innings in that game.
On Wednesday, Schumaker brought left-handed closer Jacob Latz into a tied game in the seventh inning. Latz stranded the bases loaded that inning and gave up a go-ahead homer in the eighth, and Trevor Williams allowed a pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth.
“You always game plan before the game exactly what pockets you want, but it changes throughout the game,” Schumaker explained. “And sometimes you’re right, sometimes you’re wrong, but you try to give them the best chance possible to succeed. And I definitely have not been right all the time, but you definitely are focusing on who’s available and what their strengths are compared to what the other side’s weaknesses are, and you try to match up the best you can and give our guys the best chance.”
“And sometimes the matchup isn’t always there for them, but they figure out a way to get the out, and they did that today,” Schumaker continued. “And up and down that bullpen, every guy I called upon was fantastic and just, again, just really fun to watch.”
Jordan Montgomery Closes With Jacob Latz Unavailable
Latz threw 1 2/3 innings Wednesday and was unavailable Thursday. Montgomery took the ninth with a 3-1 lead and retired the side on 8 pitches, striking out 1, for the second save of his career.
His first came Sept. 11, 2024, when he pitched 3 scoreless innings for the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 14-4 win over Texas. Montgomery won the 2023 World Series with the Rangers. He has made 161 starts and 17 relief appearances across nine major league seasons.
Corey Seager had pushed the lead to 3-1 with a solo homer leading off the sixth. Before that swing, Seager was 0-for-15 over the Rangers’ three-game losing streak.
“We need him. We need our dudes to be dudes,” Schumaker said. “I’ve said that before, and they are. Today was a perfect example of that. Going into the top of the ninth with their top of the order with a one-run lead would have been a little bit different feeling, quite honestly, but having a two-run lead there with Monty going in the ninth, we felt pretty good about it.”
“But it’s because of Seager’s add-on home run and that hit,” Schumaker continued. “That was huge for us, because you always want a crooked-number lead going into the eighth and ninth inning, and Seager provided that.”
Texas opens a three-game series at the Minnesota Twins on Friday at 7:10 p.m. CT. Jacob deGrom (11-10, 3.86 ERA) faces right-hander Joe Ryan (6-10, 3.83).
