How Rangers Latest Loss Sums Up Their Season

On Thursday afternoon, it seemed all but certain that the Texas Rangers would pick up their first road series win in over two months.

Texas led the Seattle Mariners 3-0 in the seventh after Jacob deGrom had just turned in six innings, allowing just one baserunner while striking out 12 in a nearly perfect outing.

With the likes of Jakob Junis, Robert Garcia, and Jacob Latz seemingly lined up in the bullpen, the Rangers couldn’t have asked for much more as they closed the first leg of their season’s penultimate road trip.

However, just when things seemed all but certain, they came crashing down in a way that’s been all too familiar for Texas since winning the World Series in 2023.

Jakob Junis would come on in relief of deGrom in the seventh and allow an RBI single to Dominic Canzone before giving up what would go down as a game-winning, three-run home run to Julio Rodriguez.

Had Texas been able to hold on, not only would they have claimed their first road series victory since the beginning of July but also would have pulled within one game of .500 heading into the final leg of the road trip.

“We’re gonna feel this one, there’s no doubt,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said after the game.

Obviously, losing one singular game doesn’t mean the sky is falling, but perhaps the way in which Texas lost it summarizes the way the season has gone up until this point.

The Rangers played well enough for much of the game to walk away with a victory and just couldn’t rise up to the moment and secure it.

We’ve seen throughout pretty much the entire year that despite there having been some good flashes, this Texas team has not been able to elevate themselves and go on a run to grab hold of a spot in the most ideal American League playoff picture in recent years.

At this point, time is running out; we know that if the Rangers don’t find another gear, they’ll be cleaning out their lockers in October and not playing postseason baseball.

Once the regular season ends and we know which teams have qualified for the postseason, there are going to be at least one or two AL teams kicking themselves for not finding a way into the field in such a mediocre race.

If Texas is one of those teams on the outside looking in, it’ll perhaps go down as one of the biggest missed opportunity seasons in franchise history.