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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – JULY 26: Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers takes batting practice before the game against the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field on July 26, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
John E. Moore III\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 It comes down to this. For more than a decade, it always comes to this: If the Rangers<\/a> want to assert control of the AL West, they are going to have to beat Houston. In Houston.<\/p>\n Battle of the Silver Boot, y\u2019all.<\/p>\n The Rangers\u2019 two-hit 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay<\/a> Thursday shrank their lead in the AL West to a half game over the idle Astros, lying in wait at Daikin Park for three games this weekend. If the Rangers win the series, they\u2019ll reach Monday\u2019s trade deadline with the division lead; if they don\u2019t, they won\u2019t. The Astros have won three straight and are 28-20 since June 1. They have slowly climbed through the sargassum of the division to surface within striking distance.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Rangers will arrive, however, with one key reinforcement. Corey Seager is expected to make his return to the lineup after missing the last month and all but eight of the last 67 games with a back injury (and, in between, a concussion)<\/a>. Could a team make a bigger acquisition around the deadline than a two-time World Series MVP?<\/p>\n \u201cHe can put a team on his back and carry you,\u201d said designated hitter Joc Pederson, who\u2019s done a bunch of lifting himself in Seager\u2019s absence. \u201cI’ve seen it, been a part of it and it\u2019s special. To get him back is always a boost. I think we’re in a great spot; you add a bat like that and it\u2019s even better.\u201d<\/p>\n There is a message behind Pederson\u2019s words. Yes, Seager can carry a team. But also, this plucky little group has acquitted itself without Seager. It\u2019s learned to rely on one another for offense and will hopefully not rely on Seager to do it all. It\u2019s one thing to know he can carry the offense; it\u2019s something also to ask him to do it.<\/p>\n Seager completed a two-game rehab assignment with Double-A Frisco on Wednesday<\/a>. He hit an opposite-field homer in two games there and made a highlight-reel-caliber play at short by going into the hole, twisting and making a jump throw to first from the outfield grass. He checked all the boxes the Rangers want to see.<\/p>\n The only thing he can\u2019t do: Turn around and hit right-handed. Seager\u2019s return won\u2019t fix the Rangers\u2019 most conspicuous problem from Tampa Bay \u2014he\u2019s another left-handed hitter \u2014 but Houston\u2019s rotation may provide more manageable matchups.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Rays used lefties for the bulk of the final two games of the series and held the Rangers to two runs and six hits.<\/p>\n The Rangers had been one of the league\u2019s most successful teams against lefties for much of the season, but the recent cold streak of Justin Foscue and the absence of Josh Jung has made them look quite vulnerable. Foscue, who led all AL hitters in OPS against left-handed pitching in the first half, has gone just 2 for 19 against lefties with two singles since July 12. Jung, out since he left midgame on July 21 with a calf strain, has \u201cnot trended in the right direction,\u201d<\/a> according to manager Skip Schumaker and isn\u2019t expected to be activated in Houston.<\/p>\n Tampa Bay Rays catcher Hunter Feduccia pumps his fist as Texas Rangers’ Ezequiel Duran strikes out to end a baseball game Thursday, July 30, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo\/Jason Behnken)<\/p>\n Jason Behnken\/AP Photo\/Jason Behnken<\/p>\n It left the Rangers with few advantageous matchups against the Rays’ litany of lefties over the final two games. And it may have led some of the right-handed hitters to an old habit of trying to be the hero.<\/p>\n Jake Burger, for example, struck out three times, including once against ancient reliever Craig Kimbrel, one of the few right-handers to face the Rangers over the final two games. Burger struck out with two men on in the fifth. Kimbrel threw four pitches in the at-bat, none of them remotely close to the strike zone. He also struck out against lefty Garrett Cleavinger for the second out of the seventh in what was then a 2-2 tie. He struck out against lefty Shane McClanahan on three straight pitches, all in the zone, to end the first inning. It would become a theme for the day. The Rangers struck out 13 times.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI think I probably tried to do too much, especially on the 0-2 pitch,\u201d Burger said. \u201cI probably swung too hard.\u201d<\/p>\n The good news for the Rangers is the lefty thing shouldn\u2019t be as much of an issue this weekend. The Astros are expected to start righties Hunter Brown and Ronel Blanco in the first two games. The Rangers will counter with their best 1-2 punch: Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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