The Texas Rangers have no time to dwell on their latest setback.
They still are tied with the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. They still have a shot at reaching the postseason if they finish one game ahead of their in-state rivals.
Texas (79-81) will look to keep its postseason hopes alive when it squares off against the Minnesota Twins (76-84) on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis. The Twins won the series opener 10-2, but the Rangers are determined to stay positive going forward.
“We have to,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “That’s the only way to do it. Two games left.
“… The important thing is to come back (Saturday) and do whatever we can to fight and to try to win that game. That’s the most important game. Tough one (Friday), no doubt about it, but we have to figure out a way to keep going and stay positive and win.”
Texas will need to do so without Josh Jung, who broke a bone in his hand after he was hit by a pitch Friday. Jung appeared in 104 games in a season interrupted by injuries.
Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (11-10, 4.27 ERA) is expected to take the mound on Saturday. He has 141 strikeouts in 141 1/3 innings this season and has appeared in 26 games, including 22 starts.
Eovaldi has not started a game since Aug. 7 against the Baltimore Orioles. He is searching for his first victory since July 25 against the Seattle Mariners.
In nine career starts against Minnesota, Eovaldi is 4-4 with a 4.75 ERA. This will be his first appearance against the Twins since 2024, when he allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits in seven innings and took the loss for the Rangers.
Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (7-6, 4.21) is set to make his 24th and final start of the season. He needs five more strikeouts to reach 700 for his career.
Ober is back in the rotation after serving a brief stint in the bullpen. In his last outing, he earned his first career save by pitching three scoreless innings to close out a victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
This will be Ober’s sixth career start against Texas. He is 2-1 with a 5.61 ERA in his first five outings, and he has walked 14 and struck out 20 in 25 2/3 innings.
Ober has played his entire career for Minnesota. He has one year left on his contract, but he knows that change is possible during the offseason.
“I feel like there’s always going to be options,” Ober said. “Especially when we have eight starters. Guys like me, Joe (Ryan), Pablo (Lopez) and Dean (Kremer) will all be free agents the same year. And then you have a lot of young guys that have a lot of potential behind us.
“So there’s always going to be chatter and thoughts. You never know if you’re going to get moved. … Obviously I’d love to stay here. But you never know. It’s kind of up to the bigwigs up top to decide that.”
-Field Level Media
