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The mad men. They’ve done it. It wasn’t easy but the Rangers beat the White Sox 9-8 and have no longer lost more games than they’ve won.
Tyson Ross didn’t do much to help the Rangers get there tonight as he allowed five runs (three earned) in 4 2⁄3 innings pitched while giving up a career high six walks.
The bullpen was shaky as well with Matt Bush allowing two runs after getting two outs in his lone inning of work and Alex Claudio allowing a long solo home run as he picked up a two-inning save.
The offense, on the other hand, continued to roll. Tonight, everyone in the lineup had a hit or reached base. Texas had nine runs on eight hits but drew a season-high nine walks against a wild Chicago staff.
Brett Nicholas hit his second home run of the year and drove in three runs as he continues to cement his place as a solid backup catcher.
After getting beat by Chris Flexen on August 8 against the Mets in New York, the Rangers dropped to a near-season worst 53-59 and they looked as rudderless as they were toothless. The next day, something must have clicked.
Texas has climbed all the way back to .500 with their current four-game winning streak, a mark the Rangers had not been since they were 45-45 just two days after the All-Star break on July 15.
With the win over the White Sox tonight, the Rangers are now tied with the Mariners, a half game back of the Twins, and a game back of the Royals in the Wild Card standings.
Second Wild Card leader Anaheim is just a game and a half ahead of Texas though Texas trails the Angels by a game in the loss column.
Also, the Rangers are now 38-28 in games where Delino DeShields is in the starting lineup.
Player of the Game: Everyone has taken notice of Joey Gallo’s scorching pace the last few weeks, but Nomar Mazara has quietly gone superhuman of late which just goes to show his Big Chill nickname is entirely on point.
Tonight Nomar carried things for the offense going 2-for-4 with five runs driven in capped off by a long three-run dong that turned a tied 5-5 game into an 8-5 lead.
Up Next: The Rangers go for a fifth straight win with the opportunity to go above .500 for the first time since June 27 in Cleveland. To do so, Texas will need to beat old nemesis James Shields and the Chicago White Sox with Andrew Cashner on the mound for Texas. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm CT.