Texas Rangers Morning Rundown: Offense rallies for walk-off win in home finale

Marcus Semien’s ninth-inning single scored Leody Taveras and sent a sell-out crowd home happy even if the Texas Rangers won’t be in the postseason.

ARLINGTON — The pitching-heavy Seattle Mariners were also heavy on offense over the weekend at Globe Life Field and looking like a team that could sneak into the MLB postseason.

They led the Texas Rangers by five in the sixth inning Sunday and were on their way to a sweep. Teams just don’t come back from deficits like that against the Mariners.

Alas, the Rangers scored four times against starter Brian Woo in the sixth, three on a Wyatt Langford homer, and Leody Taveras tied the game in the seventh with a solo homer.

David Robertson and Kirby Yates did what they normally do in the eighth and ninth, and the Rangers had a chance. It looked as if that chance would have to come in the 10th after the first two Rangers were retired by Mariners closer Andres Munoz.

Taveras, though, singled with two outs and then swiped second base. Marcus Semien then drove a single down the left-field line, and the Rangers finished the home portion of their 2024 schedule with a 6-5 walk-off win.

“Down 5-0, it wasn’t looking good,” Semien said after his first walk-off hit with the Rangers. “We hit some balls out of the ballpark to get back it. We put together some really good at-bats against some really good arms.”

They did it in front of a sell-out crowd of 39,882 that pushed the 2024 attendance to 2,651,553, the highest since 2016 at the old ballpark. The Rangers’ fate was apparent for the past few months, but fans still showed up as if they were watching meaningful baseball.

“In the second half, we haven’t been at our best, but they’ve been at their best,” Semien said. “We’re defending champs, so there was a lot of excitement for us. We want to keep that momentum going.”

Manager Bruce Bochy said at the beginning of the homestand that the Rangers had a responsibility to play hard for the fans and to honor the integrity of the playoff races. They didn’t lay down Sunday against the Mariners, who with a win would have moved a game closer to the Astros in the American League West and gained a game in the wild-card standings.

“To come back at home, you really couldn’t ask for a better day,” Bochy said. “It’s all about keep going hard.”

30 for Heaney

Left-hander Andrew Heaney was slapped with his 15th loss of the season Sunday, a number that doesn’t come close to describing how well he has pitched this season. His 3.98 ERA does a better job of that.

And so does his number of starts, 30 of them. He’s the only Rangers pitcher to hit that plateau since Martin Perez in 2022. Jon Gray made 29 starts last season.

“As a starter, you take pride in taking the ball every fifth, sixth or seventh day,” Heaney said. “Not only just 30 starts, but also having a little more normal season for me. Last season was so volatile. It was hard to get into a rhythm and a groove.”

The number of starts is not lost on the guy who has had to plug so many rotation holes this season.

“He’s been huge for our pitching staff,” Bochy said. “He’s been a warrior through all of this. He’s been consistent, durable, all of those things.”

Heaney was charged with four runs in 5 2/3 innings, though the two runners on when he left scored against right-hander Matt Festa.

Heaney can be a free agent after the season. He has put himself in position to score a healthy payday in the offseason as an innings-eating No. 4 starter. Those guys make about $15 million a season these days.

If the Rangers believe he might land a two-year, $30 million deal elsewhere, maybe they flirt with the idea of extending a qualifying offer to Heaney. The qualifying offer is expected to be $21.2 million, and the Rangers would receive draft pick compensation were he to decline the offer and sign elsewhere.

Considering the uncertainty of their finances for 2025, the Rangers might not want any pitcher other than deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi making more than $20 million. Max Scherzer might fall under the same consideration for a QO.

Retirement for JB

No one believes that longtime media-relations guru John Blake is retiring, not even the people who spoke about him Sunday morning during a brunch celebrating his retirement.

Blake has been in professional baseball for 46 years, most of them with the Rangers, and has slowly been stepping back from the day-to-day grind of big-league media relations. He will remain on call as a senior consultant, but he won’t be as visible as he’s been.

He might be going away, but the press box at Globe Life Field will bear his name.

Though the Orioles and Red Sox won World Series with him doing their PR, he said the Rangers’ 2023 title means many times more to him.

As was visible and could always be heard when overseeing media relations. He led the response to the team’s bankruptcy in 2009 and 2010, and helped the team navigate two All-Star Games and two ballpark openings. The Rangers have never been to the postseason without him on the payroll.

Reporters have felt Blake’s wrath but more often than not have received his help time and time again.

ICYMI …

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Jeff Wilson, jwilson@alldlls.com