Texas Rangers end difficult away tour with comeback win in Boston

ARLINGTON, Texas — How much longer can the Texas Rangers keep up this pace? There are 13 series left in the 2024 regular season, and the Rangers seem to consistently lose two or three games in a pathetic or heartbreaking manner for every game they win as World Series champions.

The series in Boston was no different, and until the second out in the ninth inning of Wednesday's finale, it seemed like this was going to be the “White Flag” series. After that, the general consensus in the Rangers community was that the title defense had finally come to an end and only the last few points were up for grabs. Then Wyatt Langford hit a two-out, three-run home run to tie the series and the Rangers finished the series strong with an overtime win.

But the thrilling victory only reminded the baseball world what the Texas Rangers could have become had they not encountered so many obstacles or performed below their potential – a lot of potential that went untapped.

• Game 119: Texas 4, Boston 5 (Win: Winckowski, 3-1, Loss: Garabito, 0-1)

• Game 120: Texas 4, Boston 9 (Win: Crawford, 8-9, Loss: Urena, 3-8, Goals: Jansen, 22)

• Game 121: Texas 9, Boston 7 (Win: Festa, 1-1, Loss: Kelly, 4-2, Goals: Yates, 21)

Two games in this series went into overtime. In the opener, Texas fought back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game in the seventh inning. An RBI groundout by Josh Smith allowed the Rangers to take the lead in the tenth inning, but a resounding automatic double by Emmanuel Valdez brought the ghost runner home for Boston and tied the game again, setting the stage for a walk-off Boston victory on the night.

Coming off a busy weekend with a doubleheader in New York, the Rangers' bullpen had to rely on the relatively unknown Gerson Garabito and had recently signed extras to the mound in Walter Pennington. Pennington was on the mound for the walk-off after Garabito was able to get only one batter out of the game.

In the finale, the Rangers again fought back from a deficit, this time a late 7-4 deficit. But after scoring just one run in the first five innings, Texas scored five runs in the final two innings – including a two-run home run by Jonah Heim in the tenth inning – to avoid a sweep in Boston.

Andrew Chafin was acquired at the trade deadline to complement the bullpen trio of Jose Leclerc, David Robertson and Kirby Yates, but since his trade, Chafin has not had quite the success that originally attracted him to Texas.

Before the Red Sox series finale, Chafin had allowed five runs in six games in just 3 ⅔ innings pitched after allowing just 13 runs in 41 appearances for Detroit this year, the worst appearance being the Red Sox series opener.

Chafin came in to replace Tyler Mahle and walked the first four batters he saw. The result was just one run, but it was obvious that Chafin would not be able to maintain control.

In the finale, however, Chafin seemed like a completely different pitcher as a replacement for Dane Dunning: He threw two innings as a relief and did not allow a walk, helping to close the gap between spot starter Dunning and David Robertson.

Marcus Semien did not have the MVP-worthy season he had last year, nor was he anywhere near the model of consistency from the starting position. For 12 games, coach Bruce Bochy tried to remove Semien from the starting lineup in an attempt to revive an offense that had been sluggish since the season.

The trade was meant to not only take the pressure off Semien, but also give Josh Smith, who has played well for the Rangers most of the year, more hitting opportunities. At No. 3 in the lineup, Semien didn't fare much better, hitting .200/.294/.378, and Smith ended up at the top of the lineup.

In another attempt to turn things around, Bochy sent Semien back to first for this series, and although he managed just 3-for-15 with two RBIs and two runs scored, the Rangers scored 17 runs in the three games, an average of 5.7 runs per game, an improvement over their season average of 4.3 runs per game.

It's been a long summer for Texas, but perhaps no Ranger has felt the dog days more than Adolis Garcia. After being named Rangers Player of the Month for the first month of the season, Garcia, like the Rangers as a whole, has plummeted. A sub-.200 hitter in May, June and July, Garcia was something of a black hole on offense.

In August, things have turned around a bit, with the 2023 ALCS MVP hitting .341/.426/.537. In the finale against Boston, Garcia put on a three-hit, two-home run performance reminiscent of his best days last season. It might be too little, too late, as it was with the entire Rangers team, but seeing Garcia back at his best could make the final stretch a little more interesting.

Will the thrilling final win over Boston be the highlight of the season for the Rangers? Share your thoughts with Matt on Twitter. @FisherWritesMLB.