The American League West leaders at the All-Star break? It’s the Texas Rangers, who stunned the Astros on Sunday with a walk-off win to cap a winning homestand.
No, the Texas Rangers aren’t perfect. Far from it.
Their latest issue is a bullpen that has only one pitcher who is trusted at all times, Jacob Latz. He hopped on a plane Sunday evening for the All-Star Game in Philadelphia.
Injuries continue to hound the team, with Corey Seager still dealing with back woes and with near constant worry about outfielder Wyatt Langford and now right-hander Jacob deGrom.
Despite their flaws at the All-Star break — there isn’t a facet that can’t improve — the Rangers are in first place in the American League West. It’s not much of a lead, 1 1/2 games over the Mariners, and the Rangers are the only team in the division above .500.
But they are atop the AL West, and they are 49-47. That’s not insignificant. They have survived and continue to buy themselves time to improve over the final 66 games.
“We’re in a decent spot heading into heading into the break,” right fielder Brandon Nimmo said. “We’re in first place. I think we can still play better baseball, but I think that we’re moving in the right direction.”
Nimmo delivered the winning hit Sunday, the third of three singles to open the ninth inning against Astros closer Josh Hader. Wyatt Langford opened with a sharp grounder to left field and moved to second on an error, and he went to third as Josh Jung followed with a liner to left.
Nimmo’s bouncer up the middle hit off Hader’s glove and past a drawn-in infield for a 6-5 walk-off win.
The Rangers led 4-1 in the seventh before the Astros tied things against a beleaguered bullpen that needs reinforcements. Houston pulled ahead in the eighth on a Cam Smith homer, but Kyle Higashioka matched it in the bottom half for a 5-5 tie.
Latz (2-1) posted a scoreless ninth.
It wasn’t easy, which is par for the course with a team that has fluttered much of the season. They have endured injuries, primarily to Seager, Langford, Jack Leiter and Jakob Junis. and are playing things save with deGrom after his left glute flared up in his start Tuesday.
He won’t throw off a mound until after the season resumes Friday at Atlanta. He felt he could have made his scheduled Sunday, isn’t on the injured list and could pitch within the next five games.
MacKenzie Gore allowed one run in four innings while pitching on three days’ rest, perhaps the grittiest effort in the gritty win. It was the Rangers’ 17th come-from-behind win of the season and their second walk-off win of a 4-2 homes (2-1 vs. the Angels and the Astros).
The Rangers’ schedule is favorable the remainder of the season, though the next five series are against contending teams. Three of them are division leaders, and the other two are against AL West foes Seattle and Houston.
Those five series lead to the Aug. 3 trade deadline, and the front office needs to see the team hang around before making deals. The Rangers, though, feel as if they have some momentum, or at least some happy thoughts as they scatter for the All-Star break.
“You want to feel good going into the break,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “For our club, if you blow a lead late and then lose a game like that, it doesn’t feel great, even though you have three or four days of rest to kind of forget about it. You just don’t want to think about it for four days.”
Help is coming for the rotation, with left-hander Jordan Montgomery potentially back in the next two weeks. The bullpen needs immediate help, but it might be hard to find with so many teams feeling as if they have a chance to grab at least a wild-card spot and unwilling to trade now.
The Rangers are going to have to keep surviving. The offense has been much better, bailing out the bullpen throughout the homestand. The rotation needs to log more innings to allow Schumaker to lean on the small group of relievers he does trust.
It’s not going to be easy, but nothing has been easy so far for the Rangers. At the All-Star break, though, they’re in first place. That’s not insignificant.
Jeff Wilson, jwilson@alldlls.com
