Related<\/p>\n
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Yes, the Rangers ended up beating Philadelphia 5-4 in 10 innings<\/a> on a cold and windy day. Yes, Jacob Latz is a Swiss Army Knife of a pitcher, willing to jump back in as a starter on, oh, about an hour\u2019s notice<\/a>, and compete. Yes, the offense showed some resilience for a second straight game. And, yeah, \u201cCutch in the clutch,\u201d has a nice ring to it. But, alas, Skip Schumaker\u2019s first Rangers win came with the same kind of questions that dogged Bruce Bochy the last three years. <\/p>\n Rangers<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n About closer, is the first opportunity too early to ask questions about the situation? Apparently not. Schumaker seemed to act like he knew it was coming. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to run those guys out there,\u201d Schumaker said after his two top closing options, Robert Garcia and Chris Martin, lost a 3-0 ninth-inning lead. \u201cI have confidence. We were ahead in the count. We were in leverage counts. And we made pitches. We made them put the ball in play. We\u2019re going to run those same guys back out there and we will see what happens. You just don\u2019t know how this is going to go, but we will piece it together and I believe this group is going to find a way.\u201d <\/p>\n We could make the circumstances sound worse, if you\u2019d like. Like this: The Rangers took a one-hit shutout to the ninth on exemplary work by Latz, a last-minute fill-in for stiff-necked Jacob deGrom, and three other relievers. They were actually one strike away from the one-hitter, but if you are a Rangers fan, you\u2019ve been there, done that. Alec Bohm fought off an 0-2 changeup off the outside edge for a flared single and things just crumbled from there. <\/p>\n After a walk to hit pinch-hitter Edmundo Sosa on a full count, Martin replaced Garcia and got a first pitch pop-up from old friend Adolis Garc\u00eda that got caught up in the swirling 18-mph wind. For the second time in the afternoon, Jake Burger couldn\u2019t corral it. Given another chance, Garc\u00eda, who you may recall has a flair for the dramatic, doubled home a run. And the rally was on. Brandon Marsh singled to tie it. And save chance No. 1 became blown save No. 1. <\/p>\n \u201cI was talking with [Josh Jung] about his approach in these types of games, slowing the feet down,\u201d said Burger, who homered for the second straight day. \u201cMy eyes were bouncing a little bit too much, and that\u2019s what happens. It\u2019s windy, but that\u2019s not an excuse for making a play, and I think it\u2019s something that won\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rangers ended up going 1 for 2 on save opportunities on the day with Tyler Alexander closing out a dicey 10th after the Rangers scored two runs on a wild pitch and a two-out single by Andrew McCutchen. But in those numbers lies the issue. When it comes to save opportunities, Ranger relievers have basically been a 50-50 proposition in the Chris Young Era. Their 56.3% save conversion rate since 2023 ranks 28th in baseball, only ahead of Colorado and the White Sox. The Rangers somehow won a World Series in that stretch; the two others managed to each lose at least 100 games in all three of the previous seasons.<\/p>\n With limited funds provided to them this winter<\/a>, the front office couldn\u2019t go out and make a big closer splash. They spread dollars around, picking up guys like Alexander, Jalen Beeks and Jakob Junis, who combined for four innings of effective work Saturday. The Rangers have found ways to stretch dollars for effective middle relief work, but remain without a closer. Until somebody grabs the role and eases minds, it\u2019s going to remain a pressing question. <\/p>\n Who knows, maybe when it\u2019s all said and done, it could end up being Latz. He\u2019s done everything the Rangers have asked of him since the start of 2024. As a starter: He\u2019s now posted a 2.47 ERA and 1.007 WHIP in 43 \u2154 innings. As a reliever, it\u2019s a 2.93 ERA. He can pitch multiple innings. The biggest concern keeping him from nailing down a starter\u2019s job is the inability to hold velocity deep into games<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Saturday, his fastball dropped from an average of 93.4 in the first inning to 90.9 on the two he threw in the fifth on a four-pitch walk that ended his day. Still, he ended it without allowing a hit. Not a bad outing for a guy who was informed in the past week that, no, his dream of being a full-fledged starter would not be fulfilled to start the year and who arrived at the ballpark on Saturday to find out that, well, he was starting because deGrom woke up with a stiff neck. <\/p>\n \u201cI was frustrated with the way the last couple [starts] in the spring finished off, so I was extra motivated to start the year on a good note,\u201d said Latz, who was informed he\u2019d start at 11:30 a.m. ET. \u201cThey made it clear in the message before the season started that I\u2019m going to be a valuable arm for them and that the role for me right now is in the bullpen. Then it changed quickly, but in my mind, anything can change. It did quickly. I just tried to go out there and execute a pitch at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHis depth is valuable, and we really need it,\u201d Schumaker said. \u201cYou just don\u2019t know how things will turn. We sent him to the bullpen and we told him to be ready because things can happen quick. Didn\u2019t expect it in Game 2, but he can start and he did a fantastic job. He can come in and relieve in high leverage. He\u2019s just a really valuable piece and we are lucky to have him.\u201d <\/p>\n Valuable enough to close? Is it too soon to ask? <\/p>\n Twitter\/X: @Evan_P_Grant<\/a><\/p>\n Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford, Brandon Nimmo and Jake Burger have posted early numbers that are in stark contrast to last year\u2019s.<\/p>\n A wild, windy, messy win for Texas\u2019 first of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n Scarborough has begun throwing bullpens, but hasn\u2019t faced hitters after his camp was delayed by his battle with an offseason melanoma.<\/p>\n Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774752453_143_MNVR77JLN5EKZGPX42RGBFJHKA.jpg\")
<\/a>\u2018Starts at the top\u2019: Texas Rangers\u2019 first four hitters are out of the gate with a bang<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>5 Texas Rangers observations: Latz shines as fill-in, Rangers survive 9th inning chaos<\/a><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774752454_621_VMDIRFWRLJCMZENAUS7FXZKRNI.jpg\")
<\/a>Rangers\u2019 top pitching prospect Caden Scarborough to miss start of minor league season<\/a><\/p>\n