Rangers Set Lineup Behind Jacob deGrom for Must-Win Game Against Rays

Saturday's game feels like an inflection point for the Texas Rangers in their hot-and-cold pursuit of an American League playoff berth.

Texas (70-72) nearly rallied from five runs down to beat the Tampa Bay Rays (84-57) on Friday but fell 7-6 when the Rangers were unable to get the tying run home from third base in the bottom of the ninth.

It was a bad day to not complete a comeback. Not only did the Rangers drop two games below .500, but they fell three games behind the Houston Astros and the AL West and two games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the final AL wild card berth.

That makes Saturday's matchup a huge game for the Rangers. They can't afford another loss, especially coupled with a victory by the Astros or the Guardians, or heaven forbid both.

Texas has the right pitcher on the mound. Jacob deGrom was fantastic in his last start. But Texas is facing right-hander Drew Rasmussen, and the Rays starter has been brilliant all season.

Tampa Bay is playing to win the AL East and to claim the No. 1 berth in the AL playoffs. Home-field advantage could carry a lot of weight this postseason. The Rays want this series just as badly as the Rangers. But the Rangers need it so much more than the Rays.

Rangers Lineup for Sept. 5, 2026

Texas Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford catches a fly ball with his glove during a game — Texas Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford. Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

DH Joc Pederson (L)

SS Corey Seager (L)

LF Wyatt Langford

RF Brandon Nimmo (L)

2B Ezequiel Duran

1B Jake Burger

CF Evan Carter (L)

3B Cody Freeman

C Danny Jansen

Tampa Bay Rays at Texas Rangers

Where: Globe Life Field, Arlington

Series Schedule, TV, Radio

Saturday: 6:05 p.m. — TV: Rangers: Rangers Sports Network, can be streamed on BZZR; Rays: Rays.TV; Radio: Rangers: KRLD 1080, KFLC 1270; Rays: WDAE 95.7 FM, WQBN/1300AM

Probable Pitchers

Saturday: Rangers RHP Jacob deGrom (10-9, 4.00) vs. Rays RHP Drew Rasmussen (14-5, 2.95)

Three Rangers Matchups That Matter

Texas Rangers shortstop Ezequiel Duran waits on deck to take his at-bat. — Texas Rangers shortstop Ezequiel Duran. Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ezequiel Duran: There are only three position players in baseball with a better fWAR than Duran this season. He should be a leading contender for an AL Silver Slugger and Gold Glove at utility player. Duran has been consistently hot for more than a month. He is slashing .309/.392/.527 with 5 home runs and 19 RBI in his last 30 games.

Jake Burger: He’s the only Rangers player with a home run off Rasmussen, so Texas hopes he can make it two career home runs on Saturday. Burger has a .375 batting average in eight career at-bats with two RBI.

Wyatt Langford: The Rangers need Langford to get hot again. In his last seven games he’s slashing .125/.300/.208 without a home run or an RBI. If he’s going to play every day Texas needs the kind of production it got in July when he slashed .274/.312/.507 with four home runs and 10 RBI.

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