No Time to Panic: Postseason Destiny Remains in Front of Texas Rangers

Fans of the Texas Rangers likely awoke with Saturday morning with a bad feeling in the pits of their stomachs.

If the actual Rangers are panicking, they’re trying not to show it.

“I mean, it’s right there in front of us,” Friday night’s starter Nathan Eovaldi said, according to MLB.com. “All we have to do is go out there and win one game. I know with [Thursday] night’s loss and then this one [Friday], it’s tough. But we just have to turn the page from those two. That’s what it comes down to in the final games of the season.”

Making matters less ideal was losing Jon Gray (wrist) to the injured list. He was expected to start Saturday, but the Rangers have turned to Andrew Heaney. The left-hander hasn’t started since Sept. 4.

“Obviously, if we lose anybody in the rotation, it’s tough on us,” Eovaldi said. “We talk about the bullpen a lot, but I feel like this is one of those situations where you just gotta block out the outside noise. We know the talent that we have, we know all those arms are capable of going out there and getting outs and covering innings.”

Texas was one out away from clinching a playoff spot before losing 3-2 in the series opener at the Seattle Mariners. That was followed by an 8-0 blowout that left the Rangers in precarious position going into the lats two games of the season.

The magic number to get into the postseason remains at one. It’s two to claim the American League West title. But the Houston Astros are just one game back – and own the tiebreaker over Texas. The Mariners are two back – and though Texas owns that tiebreaker, Seattle owns it should the three teams end up tied for the division lead.

It’s complicated. But the Rangers remain in control of their destiny. Even if it doesn’t feel that way after the series’ first two games.

“That’s really what it comes down to [Saturday] and Sunday,” Eovaldi said. “We got to make sure that we win one of these games – and ideally two and win the division. It’s just simplifying the basics and going out there and playing our game. We know what we’re capable of going out there and doing. We just gotta go out there and execute.”