Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung reacts after striking out with runners on second and third during the first inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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ARLINGTON — The somewhat ragtag horde of relief pitchers that the Rangers assembled painted their collective Mona Lisa-esque masterpiece under duress Monday night. The offense offered its best Vincenzo Peruggia impression and stole it out from underneath them.
That metaphor admittedly implies the existence of better execution than what was actually displayed.
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The Rangers lost 1-0 vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks at Globe Life Field only hours after right-handed pitcher Nathan Eovaldi was scratched from his scheduled start with left side tightness. It sprung an unplanned bullpen game from baseball’s best bullpen, one without a bulk reliever available to eat the lion’s share of workload, and a five-man quintet of arms delivered one of the best emergency makeshift starts that can be concocted given the circumstances.
It was nearly a triumph, too, if not for a lineup that failed to capitalize on its earliest opportunity, squandered another late, advanced all of one runner past first base and remains bottom-three in runs scored leaguewide through a quarter of the season.
“Good day on the pitching side and defense,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “We just couldn’t get anything going on the offensive side.”
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The Rangers had one meaningful chance in the first inning, after the Diamondbacks scored their lone run with consecutive doubles against right-handed pitcher Jakob Junis in the top of the frame, when right fielder Brandon Nimmo and second baseman Ezequiel Duran strung together successive singles to lead off against Diamondbacks right-handed pitcher Mike Soroka. Shortstop Corey Seager, now 0 for his last 19, hit a dribbler to second base for the first out. Third baseman Josh Jung, whose improved discipline has led to a red-hot start, chased a slurve for a strikeout. Center fielder Evan Carter, owner of a .174 batting average, chased another one at-bat later and grounded out to strand both runners on.
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The three at-bats started an 0 for 14 stretch that ended in the sixth inning when catcher Kyle Higashioka led off with a single and was left at first base by the top of the club’s order. The Rangers were retired in order in the seventh despite a pair of substitutions designed to capitalize on left-handed pitcher Brandyn Garcia’s entrance. In the eighth inning, when first baseman Jake Burger beat out a double play after left fielder Alejandro Osuna reached on a leadoff single, outfielder Sam Haggerty entered as a pinch runner.
He was immediately picked off by right-handed pitcher Taylor Clarke for the inning’s second out. The Rangers even had a chance in the ninth, when Seager was hit on the foot by a pitch from right-hander Paul Sewald, but couldn’t rally.
“Credit to Soroka,” Schumaker said. “We couldn’t get anything going on the offensive side in the air. A lot of ground balls to the pull side which, that falls into their game plan, that’s who he is. Really good sinker, we just couldn’t get underneath it.”
The Diamondbacks couldn’t get under much of what the home side’s bullpen offered either. The five-man unit of Junis, left-hander Jalen Beeks, right-hander Peyton Gray, right-hander Cole Winn and left-hander Tyler Alexander fired off eight shutout frames after the Diamondbacks scored the go-ahead run in the first. Junis and Gray each logged 2 ⅔ innings. Alexander entered in the eighth with one out and the bases loaded but stranded all three on by way of a strikeout and groundout.
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The relief staff’s 2.68 ERA is the best in baseball by a considerable margin despite the fact that the group received marginal financial investment this winter when in need of another rebuild. That doesn’t take into account the facts that the two of the club’s highest-leverage arms are stuck on the injured list, a pair of unheralded rookies have been asked to work in critical spots and their singular best reliever (left-hander Jacob Latz) was in competition for a rotation gig only two months ago.
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“Whatever has been thrown at us, we’ve kind of rolled with it, dealt with the punches and gotten the job done in all types of circumstances,” Junis said. “I mean, from the first series of the year, Latz threw four innings, and now he’s closing games.”
Latz, who pitched two shutout innings in Sunday’s win vs. the Chicago Cubs, warmed up to pitch in extra innings had the Rangers tied the game in the bottom of the ninth.
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It’d have been a serious work of art had he been needed.
Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll is safe at second base with a double ahead of the throw to Texas Rangers second baseman Ezequiel Duran during the first inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers pitcher Jakob Junis delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll is safe at second base with a double ahead of the throw to Texas Rangers second baseman Ezequiel Duran during the first inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers outfielder Brandon Nimmo heads to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers second baseman Ezequiel Duran celebrates after reaching on a single during the first inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers outfielder Evan Carter makes a play at the wall on a fly ball off the bat of Ryan Waldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks during the third inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger fouls off a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers outfielder Alejandro Osuna is caught stealing on a tag from Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte during the second inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers outfielder Alejandro Osuna makes a catch at the wall on a ball hit by Arizona Diamondbacks left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. during the seventh inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers pitcher Jakob Junis smiles as he gets a visit brom catcher Kyle Higashioka (11) and third baseman Josh Jung (6) before being relieved during the third inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers outfielder Alejandro Osuna can’t make a play on a double by Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte during the eighth inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers outfielder Alejandro Osuna can’t make a play on a double by Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte during the eighth inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers pitcher Peyton Gray follows through on a pitch during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers pitcher Peyton Gray gets a hand after leaving the game during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager is hit by a pitch as Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno looks on during the ninth inning of a baseball game at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager reacts after bing hit by a pitch during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung tosses his bat as he lines out to center field for the final out of a 1-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a baseball game at Globe Life Field on Monday, May 11, 2026, in Arlington.
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