Rangers’ Playoff Hopes Fading Fast: Texas Falls 8-4 to Yankees in Crushing Loss
The Texas Rangers’ playoff aspirations took a significant hit on Tuesday night, as they suffered a crushing 8-4 defeat at the hands of the New York Yankees. The loss, which marked the Rangers’ fourth in their last five games, has left the team’s postseason chances hanging by a thread.
Texas starter Jack Leiter struggled mightily, surrendering six runs on seven hits in just 4.1 innings of work. The Yankees’ offense, meanwhile, was relentless, pounding out 12 hits and capitalizing on a pair of Rangers errors.
The Rangers’ offense, which had been a strength for much of the season, was unable to keep pace with the Yankees’ onslaught. Despite a pair of solo homers from Adolis García and Marcus Semien, Texas was unable to muster any sustained momentum.
The loss drops the Rangers to 65-74 on the season, 5.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the final American League wild card spot. With just 23 games remaining on the schedule, time is running out for Texas to make a push for the playoffs.
“We’re running out of opportunities,” said Rangers manager Bruce Bochy. “We need to start playing better baseball, and we need to start doing it now.”
The Rangers will look to bounce back on Wednesday, as they send ace pitcher Max Scherzer to the mound against Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole. First pitch is set for 7:05 PM CT.
