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Texas Rangers pitcher Trevor Williams (51) reacts with catcher Elias D\u00c3\u008caz after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays during a baseball game Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo\/Julio Cortez)<\/p>\n
Julio Cortez\/AP Photo\/Julio Cortez<\/p>\n
ARLINGTON \u2014 Somebody \u2013 the bald sportswriter will remain anonymous \u2013 thought it cute to ask Rangers manager Skip Schumaker on Friday if Trevor Williams was still on the roster.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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After all, the Rangers have churned through relievers lately like a food processor on high, yet Williams remained on the shelf for more than a week. Seemed odd. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Schumaker responded to the question politely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Saved his real answer for the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On a night when the Rangers matched their season high in walks and made every one of Toronto\u2019s three errors sting in what appeared to be a lopsided, 7-1 win<\/a>, nothing stood out larger than the performance of a reliever signed from free agency<\/a> who pitched four scoreless innings to lock down a win and save the beleaguered bullpen<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Williams, appearing for the first time since Sept. 9, pitched the final four innings to give almost everyone a night off and give the Rangers a win that pushed them back into a tie with Houston<\/a> atop the AL West with eight games to play. \u00a0<\/p>\n How\u2019s that for an answer?\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a good question,\u201d Schumaker said slyly after the game about the tongue-in-cheek question. \u201cKind of showed you he still was.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n More seriously, though, not even Schumaker thought Williams was the plan when he needed a handful of innings for a fourth straight game. When Kumar Rocker faltered in the fifth by walking the first two batters he faced with a four-run lead, Schumaker knew he was going to have to get through four innings with a bullpen that had already had to pick up at least four innings of relief for the fourth straight day.\u00a0<\/p>\n Schumaker has tried to manage his pitching one day at a time<\/a> through this stretch run, putting off worrying about the next day\u2019s starter until the previous game was complete. He\u2019s now having to worry about the next inning until the current one is complete.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Friday, he said five relievers were unavailable, leaving him with Tyler Alexander, Williams, just-recalled Michel\u00a0Ota\u00f1ez<\/a> and maybe one of Jordan Montgomery or Chase Silseth. \u00a0<\/p>\n So he asked Alexander to get him through the fifth, which he did, then turned the ball over to Williams to face four consecutive right-handed hitters in the sixth. He believed Williams was best set up for success against a string of righties. The right \u201cpocket\u201d presented itself. But he didn\u2019t know how deep he could reach into the pocket. He\u2019d worry about the seventh once the sixth was completed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what I was thinking: How am I going to get through the rest of this game?\u201d Schumaker said. \u201cBut Trevor kept going quick inning after quick inning. It really helped. You are just going through all these scenarios. There was a lot going on. We didn\u2019t have anybody else available to go more than one inning, so you are just counting outs and the fact that he got all of them was huge.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Williams was released by Washington on Aug. 31 and signed with the Rangers the next day. The Rangers considered him a piece capable of going one or two innings. Four? He hadn\u2019t pitched more than 3 1\/3 innings this season and that was in a mop-up role in a loss to the Rangers. \u00a0<\/p>\n