Texas Rangers closer Jacob Latz struck out Luis Arraez in his MLB All-Star Game debut on Tuesday night.
The 2026 MLB All-Star Game took place in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, with the American League taking a 4-0 victory over the National League.
Texas Rangers closer Jacob Latz was the team’s lone representative as he made his All-Star Game debut.
Latz came on in the seventh inning with two outs and had one of the toughest tasks any AL pitcher faced on the night.
The Rangers' left-hander was charged with getting out San Francisco Giants second baseman Luis Arraez, who has the lowest strikeout rate in all of Major League Baseball.
Latz went up against Arraez
Latz set the tone for the at-bat on the first pitch, clipping a slider on the outside corner for a called strike. After missing high with a fastball, the count evened at 1-1.
On the next pitch, Latz got Arraez to swing and miss on a fastball up and away, flipping the count back in his favor at 2-1.
After Arraez fouled off a high changeup and laid off an outside fastball, Latz went back to the slider to get a swinging strikeout.
Getting someone who has one of the best contact rates in the modern era to strike out in your first All-Star Game is certainly something Latz will remember forever, but it doesn’t come as a surprise to Rangers fans.
Latz has been dominant this season, posting a 1.61 ERA, a 0.672 WHIP, and 46 strikeouts in 44 innings. Additionally, Latz has converted 18 of his 20 save opportunities, many of which have been multiple innings.
Latz finds spot as closer
After competing for the role of fifth starter in Spring Training, Latz started the year as a regular reliever, but as he continued to get hitters out seemingly without blemish, he became the team’s closer.
There’s no doubt the Rangers wouldn’t be where they are without the strong play of their bullpen, and much of that is due to Latz.
Coming into Spring Training, the biggest question marks surrounding Texas came out of the bullpen as it was nearly entirely rebuilt for the second consecutive season.
In the second half, the Rangers will certainly have to figure out the innings in front of Latz, as currently the second highest leverage arm is rookie Peyton Gray.
However, as we know, Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young has been aggressive during the Trade Deadlines of his tenure. He will, no doubt, look at this year’s as an opportunity to upgrade his bullpen.
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