Atlanta Braves’ Matt Olson (28) avoids getting caught in a rundown between Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung (6) and second baseman Nicky Lopez, right, during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Sunday, July 19, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Erik S. Lesser/AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser
ATLANTA — To quote the old Georgia man in us, it was hot enough in Atlanta on Sunday to fry an egg.
And maybe scramble a few brains, too.
Might be the best way to describe how the Rangers ended up losing Sunday, 8-5, and, as a result, the opening series of the second half. Inexplicably poor decisions and poor execution, mostly in the field, robbed the Rangers of the chance at a come-from-behind win.
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All in all, the Rangers did what was probably expected for the weekend in Atlanta, winning a game against a rookie starter. But they also suffered the worst loss of the season and capped it off Sunday with one of the most embarrassing innings in which Josh Jung failed to get an out on a rundown play and Ezequiel Duran took too long with a ground ball.
The Rangers’ still-thin bullpen just doesn’t have the margin of error to pitch around extra outs. A one-run game became a four-run margin.
“We can’t — we’re not allowed to — make these types of mistakes against good teams,” manager Skip Schumaker said, alluding to the Rangers’ thin margins with a mostly unproven bullpen. “They capitalize. We made multiple today in one inning. Honestly, I don’t even care who you play at the major league level, that’s going to cost you. We made mental mistakes against a good team. They made us pay.”
On Sunday, this is how things unraveled:
With Nathan Eovaldi still feeling the effects of an illness that laid him low through the All-Star break, he struggled, allowed four runs in four innings and was gassed. The Rangers had to turn to the bullpen earlier than desired. In the meantime, though, they cut a 4-0 margin to a one-run deficit heading to the seventh. Might have erased it entirely, but Nicky Lopez, who was trying to steal second with two outs in a three-run fifth, never peeked to the plate and never heard the crack of the bat on Joc Pederson’s double to left. He slid head first into second, then got up and got to third, but had no chance to score. The inning ended with him stranded there.
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By the seventh, the Rangers were already deep into the bullpen, turning to Tyler Alexander, who allowed a leadoff double to Matt Olson. With one out, Alexander got a grounder to short; Ezequiel Duran saw an opportunity to get the lead runner in a one-run game and flipped to Jung, who then ran Olson back towards second.
Jung, who is not fleet of foot, didn’t give the ball up, partly, he said, because he didn’t create a good throwing lane.
“So I tried to pump fake and get the tag,” Jung said.
It froze Olson momentarily. But Jung also stopped rather than keep pursuing Olson. It allowed him to scamper back to second.
The next batter, Eli White, faced right-hander Peyton Gray, who got a ground ball again to short. It took a bit of a big hop, which eliminated any chance of a double play. It also froze Duran. And when he tried to get the force at second, he was a bit slow and Mauricio Dubon beat the throw, though it took a successful Braves challenge to prove it.
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Gray, who struggled in the week leading up to the break, allowed a two-run single to Austin Riley and a run-scoring double to Brewer Hicklen. Gray has now allowed five hits to the last 15 batters he’s faced, raising questions of whether opponents are starting to figure out the changeup specialist’s sequencing. And, save for just-returned Jakob Junis, Gray has been the Rangers’ top right-handed leverage reliever.
“I’ve got to figure out better matchups and lanes in the bullpen,” Schumaker said. “I’ve got to be better at that.”
It sounded accountable, sure. But it also allows that the problem is solvable with the current mix of relievers. And everything between the time the starter leaves the game and Jacob Latz can enter it has been shaky for a month.
The Rangers return home still in first place — albeit by a half-game over Seattle — in the slog that is the AL West with just two weeks until the trade deadline. But they play six of the next 10 games against division leaders, the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay. The other four? Against the Mariners.
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They’ve got some soul-searching to do about what is realistic for this team. Those problems may take a lot of thought. At least they will be able to do it in the cool comfort of Globe Life Field.
And maybe that will prevent their brains from overheating, too.