Rangers reach .500 again and tie for AL West lead with 7-3 victory over Red Sox

By: Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press Posted: 10:15 PM CDT Wednesday, Sep. 16, 2026 Last Modified: 10:54 PM CDT Wednesday, Sep. 16, 2026

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Brandon Nimmo hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning before Ezequiel Duran added a two-run single, and the surging Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3 on Wednesday night to pull even with Houston atop the AL West.

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Nathan Eovaldi (11-9) allowed one hit over four scoreless innings in relief and finished the game retiring his last 11 batters. He earned the win in his second appearance since missing a month on the injured list because of elbow inflammation.

The Rangers (76-76) have won four in a row to reach .500 for the first time since they were 66-66 on Aug. 24. With 10 games left, they moved into a first-place tie in the division race when the Astros lost 5-2 to Kansas City at home, though Houston owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Texas Rangers' Jake Burger celebrates his ground-rule double that scored Justin Foscue in the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Boston (82-70) has lost five of seven but holds the second American League wild card by five games over the Chicago White Sox.

Erik Miller (4-1), the third of four Red Sox pitchers, worked the seventh when the Rangers scored three times.

Boston went ahead 3-2 in the fifth after reliever Jakob Junis dropped the ball while on the rubber, resulting in a balk that sent a runner home from third base.

That was soon after left-hander MacKenzie Gore left his 32nd start of the season, tied for most in the majors. He allowed only two hits, but walked three without a strikeout.

Willson Contreras hit his 27th homer in the first inning, a two-run shot that put the Red Sox up 2-0.

Justin Foscue doubled on the first pitch thrown by Red Sox rookie starter Jake Bennett and scored on a ground-rule double by Jake Burger. Texas tied it at 2 on Foscue’s RBI single in the fourth, and Wyatt Langford had an RBI single in the fifth.

Up next

Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (17) and catcher Danny Jansen, right, celebrate the team's win in a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Red Sox RHP Sonny Gray (17-5, 2.76 ERA) goes for his MLB-leading 18th victory in the series finale Thursday. LHP Cody Bradford (0-5, 4.72) starts for the Rangers.

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