Texas Rangers’ Brandon Nimmo (24) is greeted near the dugout after scoring on a single by Elias DÃaz during the second inning of a baseball game against the Athletics Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Julio Cortez/AP Photo/Julio Cortez
ARLINGTON — The Globe Life Field speakers blared Van Halen’s “Jump” after the visitor’s appropriately named starting pitcher was removed from the mess he created midway through Monday’s game.
It’s a lighthearted jab for the Athletics and their rookie pitcher Gage Jump.
It’s a home field perk for the Texas Rangers and their offense.
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They’ve now got to lean into the latter as much as possible.
The Rangers started the second-to-last homestand of their season with an 8-1 win vs. the Athletics at Globe Life Field Monday night, climbed to within a game-and-a-half of a playoff spot with one month left to play and extended their run of strong play at home. They’re now 37-29 at home this season with noticeably better numbers on the mound (3.58 ERA at home compared to a 4.93 ERA on the road) and marginally better numbers at the plate (.715 OPS at home compared to a .712 OPS on the road) as opposed to all games played elsewhere.
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker can’t explain the performance gap between Globe Life Field and other venues, but with 15 of his team’s final 24 games set to be played at home and a potential playoff push to be made, he aknowledged that “to the psychological effect [of home games], you try to use whatever motivation you can, and you definitely are going to use that today.”
They’re certainly aware of the apparent benefits.
“We have a lot more home games than we do road games to finish the season,” Rangers first baseman Jake Burger said, “and I think having that advantage for those 14 games can definitely help us continue the momentum. “
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Schumaker chose the word motivation. Burger chose momentum. We’ll choose mathematics, because as far as home games go, the figures are favorable. The Rangers have won 56% of their home games this season, and if that clip continued for the remainder of the season, they’d finish their two final homestands with a 9-7 record. That alone would not guarantee the Rangers a postseason berth, but even if their poor 43% road winning percentage holds and they win just four of their nine final road games, it’d give them an 80-82 record. A losing record likely keeps the Rangers outside of the playoffs, but in an especially weak American League West, it can get them close enough to clinch if they can outperform their projections and win a few more home or road games than expected.
They can do that with what Schumaker described as a “complete team win” anchored by right-handed pitcher Jacob deGrom. The 38-year-old pitched seven shutout innings, struck out eight batters and allowed a single base runner in a magnificent rebound start. He allowed a season-high eight earned runs in his previous start against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field, was “so mad” after the fact, per Schumaker, and used an especially diverse arsenal with a focus on his rarely thrown sinker to stymy an Athletics lineup that finished 0 for 17 against him after a second-inning single.
Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom throws to the Athletics during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Julio Cortez/AP Photo/Julio Cortez
“I’m pretty frustrated after most rough starts, but, that one was pretty bad,” deGrom said of his previous appearance. “Five walks? I ended up giving up eight runs. That was really frustrating, especially because it’s the time that we can’t afford to have those kind of starts, and for me that really bothered me. We need to go out there and win games there and I had an absolute terrible start. We needed to turn the page and prepare for this one.”
It helped that the Rangers, who are now 50-16 when they score first in games, were able to manufacture runs in a variety of different ways. The Rangers scored twice in the second inning — once when designated hitter Elias Díaz grounded out with two runners on and once when third baseman Cody Freeman singled in the at-bat after him — off of Jump. They scored once in the third inning (when right fielder Brandon Nimmo singled home a run), once in the fourth (when second baseman Justin Foscue hit a solo home run into the left field seats) and three times in the fifth with the bases loaded.
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Ezequiel Duran — the all-league utility player who started at center field in Monday’s game — led the fifth inning off with a single before shortstop Corey Seager and left fielder Wyatt Langford both walked. Nimmo scored one run with a sacrifice fly, Burger scored another with a single and pinch hitter Evan Carter used his speed to force an errant throw on a would-have-been-double-play ground ball. It extended the inning, plated a seventh run and chased Jump from the game.
“I think the biggest point with bases loaded is it doesn’t have to be a home run,” Burger said. “Everybody wants to hit a grand slam, but if you go in the box thinking you’re going to hit a grand slam, you’re probably not going to hit a grand slam. It’s more about moving the ball and knowing who you are as a player.”
The Rangers still might not know who they are as a team on the road vs. at home.
It may be too late to fully figure out, but with a playoff berth theoretically within reach, it’s not too late to exploit.
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“We’ve just got to go out and try to win every game,” deGrom, who has a 2.42 ERA at home and a 5.86 ERA on the road, said, “but playing here at home, more the majority of games left, it’s definitely a huge plus.”