Rangers squander chances they can’t afford to as AL playoff race tightens behind them

NEW YORK — The American League playoff race got a little bit tighter on Sunday.

Just not the way the Rangers had hoped.

Unable to take advantage of three different late-game chances to force a run home from third base with less than two outs, the Rangers were instead walked off, 5-2 in 10 innings by the reeling Mets on Pete Alonso’s three-run homer.

It may have been the Rangers’ last chance at the AL West title, though a wild card is still within reach with 12 games to play. The Rangers go to Houston on Monday, but they will no longer be playing the division leaders. The Astros’ loss at Atlanta, in concert with Seattle’s ninth straight win, gave Seattle the division lead. The Astros trail Seattle by a game and the Rangers now trail Houston by two for the final wild card spot. But failure to gain ground in these waning days is as good as losing it. To wit: Cleveland won its fourth straight and trails the Rangers by only a half-game for the stalking spot in the wild card race.

Rangers

Which is all interesting, but the main thing for the Rangers is to take care of their business. And Sunday they did not, despite being given multiple opportunities by the Mets for another come-from-behind win. Instead, the Rangers butchered three chances with a runner on third and less than two outs over the final four innings.

“We just couldn’t get a productive out — didn’t really need a hit — and getting a guy in from third with less than two outs didn’t happen for us,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “That’s what wins games. That’s what was missing today.”

And that’s what loses ground.

Perhaps the most egregious mistake at the plate was Josh Jung trying to pull a sweeper on the outside corner from impressive Mets rookie Nolan McLean. On a 1-0 pitch, with runners at the corners, Jung reached out and rolled over a sweeper. Jung said he was looking for a sweeper, but expected it to break down slightly. It did not.

“It stayed up and I got around the ball a little bit,” Jung said.

Productive outs have not been his strong suit. Jung, with 462 plate appearances, is one of three players in the majors with at least 450 plate appearances and neither a sacrifice fly or a sac bunt.

It was not the end of the Rangers’ frustrating, wasted opportunities. Nor was it the last inning-ending double play in those situations.

The Rangers had set things up in the ninth with a single by Kyle Higashioka, a steal of second by pinch runner Ezequiel Duran and a sac bunt by Cody Freeman. They proved quite good at creating the opportunity, just not so much at converting it. And that is the part that really matters.

Josh Smith got a first-pitch 99-mph fastball in from Edwin Díaz that ran off the the plate. Smith still tried to muscle it through a drawn-in infield, but was able to do nothing more than lift a soft liner to shortstop Francisco Lindor. Duran, meanwhile, had broken from third without checking to make sure the ball hit the ground and was doubled off easily.

“When I’m going good, I like the ball in a little bit,” Smith said. “I think it was just too far in. In the last couple of innings, we just didn’t get the job done.”

And still that wasn’t the end of the chances. In the 10th, Smith as the designated runner at second, he advanced to third on Wyatt Langford’s fly ball to center. Then: Adolis García, in his first game back from the injured list, struck out on a pitch in the dirt.

In the 10th, the Mets were finally able to take advantage of a worn out Rangers bullpen missing both Chris Martin (arm fatigue) and Phil Maton (workload). The Rangers turned the ball over to Luis Curvelo, wisely intentionally walked Juan Soto to set up a double play. And then Alonso delivered his blast to right field to end it.

Thing is: Sunday illustrated the Rangers’ ever-tightening situation. They have played their best baseball of the season to scramble back into the playoff race. But at this point, they can’t afford even a day when they don’t execute.

Every lost opportunity to gain ground is an opportunity for somebody else to gain on them.

And right now, the Cleveland Guardians, against whom the Rangers finish the season in two weeks in Cleveland, are breathing down their necks.

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