Nevertheless, a Rangers team buoyed by a frenzy of late afternoon trades<\/a> showed up here Thursday with a chance to grab control of a playoff spot for the first time this season since people actually started paying attention to standings. And… another gory mess ensued. <\/p>\n In a 6-0 loss, the Rangers allowed two runs to score on pitches that got away from catcher Kyle Higashioka (one ruled a wild pitch, the other a passed ball), allowed a homer hit so hard the metrics only said \u201cinterstellar,\u201d and, of course, didn\u2019t do anything offensively. <\/p>\n Rangers<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to find ways to score runs in this ballpark,\u201d Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said but he didn\u2019t have a whole lot of advice on how to best do it, especially when the opposing pitcher is George Kirby. <\/p>\n They Rangers have lost all four games in Seattle this year, managing a total of six runs in the process. They have now lost seven straight here and are 13-41 in the park since the re-branding. The loss dropped them a game behind Seattle in the wild card race, which is officially on now that the trade deadline has passed<\/a>. But they might as well trail by two because Seattle has already captured the season series, winning eight of 10 meetings. <\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s loss highlighted both what the Rangers did at the deadline and what they didn\u2019t do.<\/p>\n They did add pitching depth to try to preserve their biggest strength<\/a>. The weakest link in the rotation is the rookie, Kumar Rocker, who allowed three runs in 4 \u2154 innings, including the 470-foot, 113 mph blast by No. 9 hitter Cole Young and a more predictable one to MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh. It was the third time in his last four starts that Rocker failed to get through the fifth inning. Timed with the impending arrival of Merrill Kelly<\/a>, it might lead to a change in role for Rocker. <\/p>\n Texas Rangers starting pitcher Kumar Rocker (80) watches as Seattle Mariners’ Cole Young, background left, rounds the bases behind on a solo home during the fifth inning in a baseball game Thursday, July 31, 2025, in Seattle.<\/p>\n John Froschauer \/ AP<\/p>\n They didn\u2019t add to the offense<\/a>, however, and it remains inconsistent, at best. It was the 11th time they were shut out this year. They are on pace for 16 shutouts, one shy of the most in a season since the AL added the DH in 1973. <\/p>\n A lot of Thursday\u2019s shutout had to do with Kirby, who was making his first start against the Rangers of 2025. He annihilates them. On Friday, he allowed three hits and two walks while striking out six. Just a typical Kirby night against the Rangers in Seattle. These numbers are beyond ridiculous. In seven career starts in Seattle, he is 6-0 against the Rangers with a 0.21 ERA (one earned run in 43 innings), 39 strikeouts and six walks. He has not allowed the Rangers an earned run in his last 29 innings in the park. <\/p>\n Surprisingly, the Rangers had two chances against him. Not surprisingly, they didn\u2019t amount to anything. <\/p>\n In the third, No. 7 hitter Joc Pederson and No. 8 hitter Rowdy Tellez began things with a walk and a hit. But the next three Rangers, including Corey Seager, who struggles like nowhere else in this park, all struck out. It extended his career hitless stretch against Kirby to 14 at-bats.<\/p>\n In the sixth, with it still a game at 3-0, the Rangers threatened a two-out rally with a single by Seager to break the ofer and a double to the wall by Marcus Semien. Seager, a below-average runner, was held up at third. And stranded there when Adolis Garc\u00eda struck out. <\/p>\n \u201cYou have to battle when the guy has that kind of stuff and he\u2019s on top of his game,\u201d Bochy said. \u201cAnd we had guys at first and second and our guys up there and they\u2019ve been swinging well. But he\u2019s got that good stuff and the ability to make pitches when he gets in a jam.\u201d<\/p>\n And that effectively was the end of the night. <\/p>\n They\u2019ve got three more games in Seattle over the weekend. In theory, it gives them a chance to grab control back<\/a>. In reality, they just hope to escape this place without being pushed back into folderol of the middle of a wild card race. <\/p>\n The good news: They won\u2019t have to face George Kirby again this season. Unless it\u2019s the playoffs. Should have stopped a sentence earlier. <\/p>\n Who is Danny Coulombe? 5 things to know about the Rangers\u2019 new lefty relief pitcher<\/a>Rangers\u2019 Josh Jung dealing with sore calf in Texas\u2019 latest soft tissue injury<\/a><\/p>\n Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/XTGWVC6MHBAO5ASIIJ3NHCEY3I.jpg\")
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