RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesARLINGTON, TEXAS - JULY 27: Ezequiel Duran #20 of the Texas Rangers celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners during the third inning at Globe Life Field on July 27, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Rangers 7, Mariners 3
That was a very nice way to end the series, and the homestand.
Having good Kumar Rocker on the mound certainly helped quite a bit.
I didn’t think we were going to have good Kumar Rocker in the early going. After a quick first, Randy Arozarena took Rocker deep to start the second inning, negating Joc Pederson’s leadoff home run in the bottom of the first.
Then, staked to a 4-1 lead when he took the mound to start the third inning, thanks to Pederson’s second homer of the day, Rocker gave up a flared single, a rocket single, and a line drive from Julio Rodriguez that resulted in a sacrifice fly, making it 4-2.
Dominic Canzone, he of the go-ahead three run homer against Cole Winn the day before, as well as the insurance run driving in double later in that same game, came up with one out as the tying run.
I could see it in front of my eyes…a sinker left too far up, Canzone crushing the ball, sending it on a majestic arc well into the right field seats, Brandon Nimmo turning and taking a couple of steps back before stopping, knowing that any chase is futile. In my mind, I felt sure the game was about to be tied, that the Pederson-fueled lead would be lost and we’d be dealing with a short Rocker outing, necessitating turning to feeble bullpen arms to try to get the team 5 innings or so.
Canzone did crush a Rocker pitch, though it was a slider, not a sinker. It also hit the ground and was turned into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
Lead preserved.
And from that point on, Rocker had no problems. He faced 13 more batters the rest of the way, retired 11 of them, and left with two outs in the seventh to a hearty ovation from the folks who made it out to the Shed on a Monday afternoon.
Rocker is currently rocking a 4.03 ERA and 4.14 FIP after this start, which saw him fan seven Mariners and walk just two. In 20 appearances (18 starts and two pseudo-starts behind an opener), Rocker has allowed more than three runs just four times, something that surprised me when I looked it up because it has certainly felt like he’s gotten roughed up more than that. He’s allowed two or fewer runs in 13 of his 20 outings, and has seven quality starts on the season.
The inconsistency is frustrating, but Rocker has made strides this season, compared to last year’s disappointing up-and-down campaign. Maintaining that over his remaining 11 or so scheduled starts would make you feel pretty good about him heading into 2027.
After watching the soft underbelly of the bullpen cough up five runs and blow the game on Sunday, Skip Schumaker wasn’t taking any chances in this one. Robby Ahlstrom was summoned to face J.P. Crawford when Rocker was pulled with two outs in the seventh — the third day in a row Ahlstrom has pitched. I wouldn’t have expected Ahlstrom to be used for a third straight day with a five run lead.
Jakob Junis, who was being saved for the eighth inning on Sunday, but didn’t get used since the lead was gone by then, pitched a scoreless eighth on Monday, and Jacob Latz came in to close out the game. He allowed a couple of hits and a sac fly to make the end result 7-3, rather than 7-2.
You don’t usually use your top relief arms with a lead this big, but Schumaker clearly wanted to forestall any potential comeback, keep the Mariners from rallying and getting a second wind. You don’t normally treat a Monday game in July like a playoff game, but under the circumstances, with the trade deadline looming, the memory of the blown lead on Sunday, and the chance to put the Mariners 2.5 back meant using your biggest guns late game.
The offense scored all of its runs on homers, four in all — two by Pederson, one by Ezequiel Duran, and one by Jake Burger. All four came off of George Kirby, who has bedeviled the Rangers for as long as I can remember. I will leave it to you to determine whether that’s a commentary on Kirby’s success against the Rangers or my memory.
Joc Pederson is now slashing .254/.343/.513. This is the guy the Rangers thought they were getting when they signed him after the 2024 season. Everyone who wanted the Rangers to release him this offseason needs to say they are sorry.
Evan Carter was 2 for 4 with a double and a stolen base, raising his slash line on the season to .198/.314/.348. Since coming off the injured list, Carter is slashing .278/.391/,444.
Ezequiel Duran’s homer was, per Statcast, 436 feet, which is 8th farthest at the Shed this season. Pederson’s first inning homer went 418 feet, tied for 33rd longest this year. The 10 farthest balls hit in Arlington this year, and 29 of the 34 farthest, have come since since May 26.
They de-nerfed the Shed, y’all.
Kumar Rocker touched 96.0 mph with his fastball, averaging 94.5 mph, and hit 95.0 with his sinker, averaging 93.7 mph. Robbie Ahlstrom reached 94.5 mph with his fastball. Jakob Junis reached 93.5 mph with his fastball. Jacob Latz’s fastball topped out at 96.2 mph.
Evan Carter had a 107.8 mph double, a 104.4 mph single, and a 104.0 mph groundout. Brandon Nimmo had a 106.8 mph double. Joc Pederson had a 106.4 mph home run. Ezequiel Duran had a 106.3 mph home run and a 103.0 mph single. Jake Burger had a 105.1 mph home run. Wyatt Langford had a 102.0 mph groundout.
The Rangers are up in the West and now head out on the road. I’d like to see this continue.
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