These 2 Rangers Pitchers Will Be Critical For Final Playoff Push

The 2026 MLB postseason is nearly here. The Texas Rangers took another step toward making those playoff aspirations possible, winning 4-2 over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. The offense scored four runs in the second inning, and the pitching staff handled the rest.

The Rangers have two paths to the postseason: Winning the American League West or clinching the final wild-card spot. Currently, Texas trails the Houston Astros by one game in the division and is 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the wild-card race.

With 11 games left, every single win or loss has massive implications. The Rangers may heavily lean on these two pitchers to clinch a playoff berth.

Nathan Eovaldi

Everyone knows Nathan Eovaldi, the starting pitcher, but what happens when he becomes Eovaldi, the reliever? Currently, Eovaldi's role is out of the bullpen.

On Saturday, Eovaldi pitched 2.2 innings in relief, allowed four hits, one earned run, and struck out two. It was his first regular-season relief outing since 2019. It was also his first outing since August 10th. Eovaldi was placed on the 15-day injured list with right posterior elbow inflammation.

Eovaldi didn't make any rehab starts before his activation, hence the reliever role. He's doing whatever it takes to help the team win, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com.

"I'm just [doing] whatever they need," Eovaldi said. "Just be ready to go. I feel like anytime you come out of the bullpen, it's to get as many fast outs as possible. That's the plan. They have a pitch count, so just be ready to go the next day if that's what they want. But I don't want to have limits.

Jacob Latz

Texas desperately needed a steady closer, and Jacob Latz appeared out of thin air. The lefty had one career save before this year, and on Tuesday, Latz recorded his 30th save this season.

Latz pitched for the third consecutive game and recorded another multi-inning save to hold off Boston. It was another terrific moment in a career year for Latz. The Rangers would not be in the playoff race without him.

Texas will need Latz several times before the season ends. Schumaker isn't taking any chances and continues to go to his closer to finish games. Schumaker spoke about Latz's importance with Landry.

"The hardest part is usually when you're asking him to get the one out in the eighth or two in this instance, it's usually high leverage," Schumaker said. "It's not just like, go get an out with nobody on and two outs, right? He's usually coming in with runners in scoring position, game on the line. If he gives up a hit, the lead is lost. And he has been fantastic every time."

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