ARLINGTON — In a playoff race with five different teams in contention for two different berths, each of which are within two games of each other with a week-and-a-half left to play in the regular season, the margin for error is effectively nonexistent.
Especially in winnable games.
The Texas Rangers imploded late in a 4-3 loss vs. the Boston Red Sox at Globe Life Field on Thursday night and fell behind a host of other postseason contenders as the regular season dwindles to a close. They failed to pull themselves above .500 for the first time since Aug. 10 and failed to execute a three-game sweep of the American League’s hottest team since the All-Star break.
It dropped the Rangers to one game back of the Houston Astros (who beat the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night) in the AL West and to two games behind the Cleveland Guardians (who were off Thursday night) in the hunt for the third AL Wild Card spot with nine games left to play in the regular season.
The Rangers led for nearly seven innings before the back end of their bullpen melted down. In the top of the eighth inning, after he stranded a runner on second base in the previous frame to maintain a 3-1 lead, right-handed pitcher Jakob Junis walked right fielder Wilyer Abreu and hit first baseman Willson Contreras before an out was recorded. It forced Rangers manager Skip Schumaker to turn to left-handed pitcher Jacob Latz, their All-Star closer, for what would’ve been a second multiple-inning save opportunity in three days.
Latz retired the first batter he faced, but against Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story, a six-pitch at-bat ended with a curveball hit over the left field wall for a three-run home run and the Red Sox’s first lead of the game.
The Rangers scored three runs against right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray — a veteran arm who brought a 2.76 ERA into the game and is likely to receive Cy Young award votes this fall — before their own staff allowed a hit.
In the first inning, third baseman Josh Jung hit a sinker into the right field seats for a solo home run and an early lead. In the second inning, a well-executed blend of small ball scored another pair of runs. It started with consecutive walks from left fielder Wyatt Langford and first baseman Jake Burger. It continued with a sacrifice bunt from second baseman Nicky Lopez that advanced both runners. It ended with a bloop single from catcher Danny Jansen that scored one run and a sacrifice bunt from center fielder Evan Carter that scored the other.
The Rangers used left-handed pitcher Tyler Alexander as an opener, and after he tossed a scoreless first, they turned to left-handed pitcher Cody Bradford for the bulk work. Bradford pitched 4 ⅓ scoreless innings, struck out the side in the second, didn’t allow a hit until the fourth and exited with a runner on base in the fifth.