Nolan McLean carried a perfect game through four innings Wednesday night, and the Rangers could not recover from that quiet start in a 7-2 loss to the Mets at Globe Life Field.
The result
Texas dropped its first home series since the July 20-22 set against the White Sox, and the timing made the loss sting a little more. The Rangers entered the night tied with the Astros for first place in the American League West, but Houston holds the tiebreaker.
That leaves Texas needing to finish at least one game ahead of Houston to reach the postseason. The division race cannot be settled for the Rangers, either by clinch or elimination, before Friday.
The Mets, already out of the postseason picture themselves, played the spoiler’s role with a sharp outing from McLean. Texas did not put a runner aboard over the first four frames. Brandon Nimmo’s leadoff single in the fifth finally put a Ranger on base, and that inning became the lone sustained crack in McLean’s night.
The Rangers sent five baserunners aboard in the fifth, using singles, a walk and a fielder’s choice to pull even. Outside of that inning, McLean was perfect. Devin Williams then supplied a spotless eighth for New York.
Texas worked with another improvised pitching plan. Cody Bradford gave Skip Schumaker 4 1/3 innings before the manager began matching up with Tyler Alexander, Chase Silseth and Jacob Latz.
The game remained tied, 2-2, until the eighth. With two outs, Marcus Semien—an old friend in Arlington—drove a solo homer off Latz to put the Mets ahead for good. New York finished the night with seven runs, while Texas was left with two.
The rotation next
Bradford’s 4 1/3-inning start again asked the Rangers’ bullpen to carry a heavy share of the game. Alexander, Silseth and Latz were all called upon, with Latz absorbing the decisive blow when Semien went deep in the eighth.
For Texas, the immediate job is simple even if the math is not: keep winning and find a way to finish ahead of Houston. The Rangers still have time, but Wednesday’s loss gave the race another late-season edge.
