Rangers Set Lineup Behind MacKenzie Gore for Critical Red Sox Matchup

The Texas Rangers took care of business on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox. They'll need to do so again on Wednesday.

The Rangers (75-76) beat the Red Sox, 4-2, on Tuesday behind a solid performance by starting pitcher Jacob deGrom and a four-run second inning that the Rangers bullpen protected down the stretch.

The only thing missing for Texas was a loss by the Houston Astros. Houston (76-75) ended up defeating Kansas City on Tuesday, allowing the Astros to maintain their one-game lead in the AL West.

The Rangers are still in the thick of a race to win the division, but they still have some more mountain to climb. Texas can't finish the season in a tie with Houston because the Astros have the tiebreaker. The Rangers must be one game cleared of the Astros at the end of the season if they want to win the division.

Nothing changed in the AL wild card race either. The Cleveland Guardians won their game on Tuesday, ensuring that they would remain 1.5 games ahead of the Rangers for the final wild card berth. The Toronto Blue Jays, who start a series with the Rangers on Friday, fell two games behind after they lost to the Detroit Tigers.

Rangers Lineup for Sept. 16, 2026

Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger points his finger at a teammate after scoring a run. — Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger. Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

2B Justin Foscue

SS Corey Seager (L)

3B Josh Jung

1B Jake Burger

RF Brandon Nimmo (L)

LF Wyatt Langford

CF Ezequiel Duran

DH Elias Diaz

C Danny Jansen

Boston Red Sox at Texas Rangers

Texas Rangers pitcher MacKenzie Gore throws the baseball to a hitter during a game. — Texas Rangers pitcher MacKenzie Gore. Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Where: Globe Life Field, Arlington.

Series Schedule, TV, Radio

Wednesday: 7:05 p.m. — TV: Rangers: Rangers Sports Network, can be streamed on BZZR; Red Sox: NESN; Radio: Rangers: 105.3 The Fan, KFLC 1270; Red Sox: WEEI 93.7, WCCM 1490 AM (SP), WESX 1230 AM (SP)

Probable Pitchers

Friday: Rangers LHP MacKenzie Gore (8-11, 4.62) vs. Red Sox LHP Jake Bennett (9-7, 3.69)

Three Rangers Matchups That Matter

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager throws to first base. — Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Corey Seager: He’s picking the right moment to heat up again. He is batting .310 in his last seven games with three home runs and seven RBI. Against Boston on Tuesday, he went 2-for-4 with two RBI. He had five RBI in his last two games and hit a home run on Sunday against Arizona.

Elias Diaz: The Rangers used Diaz as the DH on Tuesday and used Danny Jansen at catcher. It might behoove Texas to keep Diaz in the lineup. He went 1-for-2 with two RBI against Boston on Tuesday. He is batting .313 in his last seven games and has four hits and three RBI in his last three games. Time to ride that wave.

Ezequiel Duran: He was experiencing a slump at the start of the road trip but perhaps he’s coming out of it. He had two hits against Boston on Tuesday, scoring a run. He also has four hits in his last three games. He’s still only batting .154 in his last seven games but .263 in his last 15. It would be nice if the slump was short-lived.

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