Rangers’ MacKenzie Gore Leaves Rockies Game with Left Lat Tightness

The Texas Rangers lost their starter, MacKenzie Gore, to an injury early in Monday’s loss to the Colorado Rockies.

Texas Rangers pitcher MacKenzie Gore. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers hope they won’t have to use the injured list for one of their starting pitchers after Monday’s game with the Colorado Rockies.

Left-hander MacKenzie Gore left Monday’s game after the first inning with what was announced as left lat tightness, as reported by MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry.

The Rangers had to dip heavily into their bullpen in the 7-6 loss and used five pitchers after Gore left the game. With Kumar Rocker set to start Tuesday, the Rangers will need him to give the bullpen coverage he has been unable to provide this season. He has a 7.11 ERA in three road starts and has only worked to the fifth inning in one start.

But the bigger questions were around Gore as the Rangers will have to evaluate him after the game and in the coming days as his next turn in the rotation won’t be until the weekend in Anaheim.

MacKenzie Gore’s Exit

Texas Rangers pitcher MacKenzie Gore. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Gore gave up three hits and two earned runs in one inning. He walked two and struck out two, which inflated his ERA to 4.78. This happened in his first start since throwing perhaps the best game of his MLB career, an eight-inning masterpiece against Arizona in which he gave up three hits, one run and struck out five.

The thought that it was a sign Gore was putting his shorter starts behind him. He’s had difficulty getting to the sixth inning in most of his starts since joining the team via trade in January.

While the Rangers have four relievers on the injured list, they have so far been able to avoid putting a starting pitcher on the list. Nathan Eovaldi came the closest as he was scratched from his start last Monday with left side tightness. The Rangers skipped his start, and he rejoined the rotation on Sunday with an IL stint.

"He says he was feeling OK — it's just with the weather and the conditions and everything, you kind of hear that and just don't want to push it."

Skip Schumaker provides an update on MacKenzie Gore after the lefty exited early with lat tightness 🎙️@RangersSNtv | #MLB pic.twitter.com/vgOZxjBuSM

— Victory+ (@victoryplustv) May 19, 2026

The severity of the injury will determine how the Rangers handle his recovery. Texas won’t need a starter until Sunday in Anaheim and their best option to replace Gore is Jacob Latz, who has of late become one of the Rangers’ closing options. He did not pitch on Monday.

Texas rallied from a 6-1 deficit after four innings to nearly tie the Rockies before falling for the third time in three road games on this trip. The Rangers stranded eight baserunners and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Justin Foscue hit his second home run of the season.

Rangers Injured List

10-Day Injured List: INF Cody Freeman (lumbar stress reaction), OF Wyatt Langford (right forearm strain); INF Josh Smith (right glute strain), SS Corey Seager (lower back inflammation).

15-Day Injured List: RHP Luis Curvelo (right biceps strain), RHP Chris Martin (right shoulder impingement). RHP Carter Baumler (right intercostal strain), LHP Robert Garcia (left shoulder inflammation).

60-Day Injured List: LHP Jordan Montgomery (Tommy John surgery recovery), LHP Cody Bradford (left UCL surgery).