Texas Rangers Face Major Bullpen Concern With Just 3 Games Left

The Texas Rangers defeated the New York Mets 3-1 on Thursday at Globe Life Field to improve to 79-80 and move a half-game ahead of the Houston Astros in the AL West. Four Rangers relievers allowed just one hit across four innings after starter Kumar Rocker pitched five innings of one-run ball. Manager Skip Schumaker noted that his heavily deployed bullpen is currently running on fumes with three regular-season games remaining.

Robert Garcia, Tyler Alexander, and Chase Silseth pitched scoreless innings before Jordan Montgomery worked a clean ninth inning on eight pitches to earn the save. Montgomery stepped in as closer Jacob Latz was unavailable following a heavy workload on Wednesday. The bullpen's strong Thursday performance followed a 7-2 loss the previous day in which relievers conceded five late runs.