Well, this sure beats the alternative for Texas Rangers fans.
Catcher Danny Jansen hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning to bust open a close game, and the Rangers held on for an 8-5 road win over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.
The victory moved the Rangers to 4-1 on the young season, their best start since 2012.
Ace right-hander Jacob deGrom, making his first start of the season after being scratched Saturday with a neck injury, cruised through the first four innings and almost made if out of the fifth, but Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson hit a two-run double to tie the game at 3.
DeGrom ended up allowing three runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts and one walk.
The Rangers immediately retook the lead on right fielder Brandon Nimmo’s single in the sixth, then Jansen provided some cushion in the seventh.
The Rangers took an 8-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Chris Martin gave up a two-run double to left fielder Taylor Ward, but got Henderson to ground out to end the game.
The teams play the finale of their three-game series at 11:35 a.m. Wednesday. Texas will send right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (0-1, 9.64 ERA) against left-hander Trevor Rogers (1-0, 0.00).
After that, the Rangers return to Texas for their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds at 3:05 p.m. Friday.
Game schedule dates, times, locations March 23 Golden State 137, Mavericks 131 (OT) March 25 Denver 142, Mavericks 135 March 27 Mavericks 100, Portland 93 March 30 Minnesota 124, Mavericks 94 March 31 Milwaukee 123, Mavericks 99 April 3 vs. Orlando, 7:30 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV April 5 vs. L.A. Lakers, 6:30 p.m., NBC, Peacock April 7 at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV April 8 at Phoenix, 9 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV April 10 at San Antonio, 7 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV March 7 TCU 73, Cincinnati 63 Big 12 Tournament (at Kansas City, Mo.) March 11 No. 6 TCU 95, No. 14 Oklahoma State 88 (second round) March 12 No. 3 Kansas 78, No. 6 TCU 73 (quarterfinals) NCAA Tournament (at Greenville, S.C.) March 19 No. 9 TCU 66, No. 8 Ohio State 64 (first round) March 21 No. 1 Duke 81, No. 9 TCU 58 (second round) March 1 TCU 65, Baylor 53 Big 12 Tournament (at Kansas City, Mo.) March 6 No. 1 TCU 63, No. 9 BYU 46 (quarterfinals) March 7 No. 1 TCU 74, No. 12 Kansas State 62 (semifinals) March 8 No. 2 West Virginia 62, No. 1 TCU 53 (championship) NCAA Tournament Opening rounds (at Schollmaier Arena) March 20 No. 3 TCU 86, No. 14 UC San Diego 40 (first round) March 22 No. 3 TCU 62, No. 6 Washington 59 (OT) (second round) Sacramento Regional March 28 No. 3 TCU 79, No. 10 Virginia 69 (Sweet 16) March 30 No. 1 South Carolina 78, No. 3 TCU 52 (Elite Eight) March 26 Philadelphia 5, Rangers 3 March 28 Rangers 5, Philadelphia 4 (10 innings) March 29 Rangers 8, Philadelphia 3 March 30 Rangers 5, Baltimore 2 March 31 Rangers 8, Baltimore 5 April 1 at Baltimore, 11:35 a.m., RSN April 3 vs. Cincinnati, 3:05 p.m., RSN April 4 vs. Cincinnati, 6:05 p.m., RSN April 5 vs. Cincinnati, 1:35 p.m., RSN April 6 vs. Seattle, 7:05 p.m., RSN April 7 vs. Seattle, 7:05 p.m., RSN April 8 vs. Seattle, 1:35 p.m., RSN March 24 TCU 11, Dallas Baptist 5 March 27 TCU 18, Texas Tech 8 (7 innings) March 28 TCU 10, Texas Tech 9 (13 innings) March 29 TCU 5, Texas Tech 4 March 31 TCU 8, Lamar 6 April 3 at Kansas State, 6 p.m., ESPN+ April 4 at Kansas State, 4 p.m., ESPN+ April 5 at Kansas State, 1 p.m., ESPN+ April 7 at Abilene Christian, 6 p.m., ESPN+ March 24 New Jersey 6, Stars 4 March 26 N.Y. Islanders 2, Stars 1 March 28 Stars 6, Pittsburgh 3 March 29 Philadelphia 2, Stars 1 (OT) March 31 Boston 6, Stars 3 April 2 vs. Winnipeg, 7 p.m., Victory+ April 4 vs. Colorado, 2 p.m., ABC April 7 vs. Calgary, 7 p.m., Victory+ April 9 vs. Minnesota, 8 p.m., ESPN+, Hulu April 11 vs. N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m., Victory+ 2026 season Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), TBA Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, TBA Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, TBA Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA Nov. 7 at Arizona, TBA Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA Nov. 28 at Texas Tech, TBA 2026 season TBA vs. TBA (at Rio de Janeiro), TBA 2026 opponents (dates and times TBA; one home game will be in Rio) vs. N.Y Giants vs. Philadelphia vs. Washington vs. Arizona vs. San Francisco vs. Tampa Bay vs. Jacksonville vs. Tennessee vs. Baltimore at N.Y Giants at Philadelphia at Washington at L.A. Rams at Seattle at Green Bay at Houston at Indianapolis Feb. 21 FC Dallas 3, Toronto 2 Feb. 28 FC Dallas 0, Nashville 0 March 7 LAFC 1, FC Dallas 0 March 14 FC Dallas 3, San Diego 3 March 21 FC Dallas 4, Houston 3 April 4 at D.C. United, 6:30 p.m., Apple TV April 11 vs. St. Louis, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV April 18 vs. LA Galaxy, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV April 22 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV April 25 at Seattle, 9:30 p.m., Apple TV April 11 NASCAR Racing Experience April 18 Team Texas-David Starr’s Racing School April 18 Bubble Run April 23-25 Pate Swap Meet April 25 FuelFest April 30-May 2 High Limit Racing Stockyard Stampede May 1 NASCAR Truck Series: SpeedyCash.com 250 May 2 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: Andy’s Frozen Custard 340 May 3 NASCAR Cup Series: Wurth 400
This story was originally published March 31, 2026 at 9:29 PM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Jim Barnes is the Star-Telegram’s sports editor. A Fort Worth native and graduate of Castleberry High School, he returned to Texas after 13 years at the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He previously was sports editor of the Waco Tribune-Herald and a freelance high school sports reporter for The Dallas Morning News.