ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers are tied for first place in the American League West with 10 games left after beating the Boston Red Sox 7-3 on Wednesday night at Globe Life Field. The Houston Astros lost 5-2 at home to the Kansas City Royals.
Both teams are 76-76. Houston holds the tiebreaker.
Texas has won 4 straight and is at .500 for the first time since it was 66-66 on Aug. 24. When the Rangers opened a road trip in Seattle on Sept. 8, they were 71-73 and two games behind Houston.
Nathan Eovaldi held Boston to 1 hit over the final 4 innings for the win. He spoke with Rangers Sports Network after the game, and for him, the division race comes down to everybody doing their part.
“We just got to keep playing baseball,” Eovaldi said. “Keep playing the games that we’ve been doing right now. We’ve been playing well lately, and I think it’s a combination of everybody really stepping up and doing their part.”
Texas is also one game out of the third and final American League wild card. Boston (82-70) holds the second wild card, five games ahead of the Chicago White Sox.
Grit in the clubhouse is what the first two wins over Boston showed Eovaldi.
“I think that’s big,” Eovaldi explained. “Obviously, guys are grinding right now, but for us to be able to come out and play well these first two games against the Red Sox, we’ve got to make sure that we bounce back tomorrow. But I think it just shows the grit that we have in the clubhouse and all the guys. We’ve been having a lot of production at the bottom part of the lineup and being able to get on base, and we were able to hang around long enough to take the lead.”
Texas Rangers Have Won 4 Of 5 Since Leaving Seattle
The Rangers lost two of three at T-Mobile Park, then took two of three at Chase Field from the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was their first road series win since July 1.
The homestand opened Tuesday with a 4-2 win over Boston. All-Star closer Jacob Latz got the final 5 outs that night for his 30th save. He said the Rangers have been talking for a while about what is in front of them.
“We’re at the right time here,” Latz said Tuesday. “We know what’s in front of us. We’ve been saying that for a while, and it’s crunch time, and we’re up for the challenge.”
On Wednesday, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker called it a big series. Eovaldi’s entrance from the bullpen gave the Rangers a boost of energy, Schumaker said.
“I heard the crowd when he came in, coming from the bullpen,” Schumaker said. “That was pretty exciting. I think it all gave us a boost of energy as well in a big series.”
Texas Rangers Have 7 Home Games Left
Texas is 42-32 at Globe Life Field this season.
Schumaker said after Wednesday’s game that Cody Bradford would start Thursday’s series finale, Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports reported. The club later announced left-hander Tyler Alexander as its scheduled starter against Boston right-hander Sonny Gray (17-5, 2.76 ERA). First pitch is 7:05 p.m. CT on Rangers Sports Network.
The Toronto Blue Jays visit from Sept. 18 to 20, and the New York Mets follow from Sept. 22 to 24. The regular season ends with three games at the Minnesota Twins from Sept. 25 to 27.
