Contending Rangers turn to MacKenzie Gore against struggling A's

Aug 15, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore (1) throws a pitch against the Athletics during the second inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images Needing a strong September to push their way into the playoffs, the Texas Rangers will hope to carry recent success at the plate into the regular season's final month. Entering the second contest of a three-game set against the Athletics on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas, the Rangers (68-70) sit two games behind the American League West-leading Houston Astros. Their 562 runs scored rank 27th in the majors, but Texas manager Skip Schumaker's club has plated a total of 15 runs across back-to-back wins. "We've had some good offensive days and some really tough offensive days," Schumaker said after an 8-1 win over the Athletics on Monday. "That was one of our really good offensive days, carried over from (Sunday), which we had hoped and, hopefully, we carry it over into tomorrow." MacKenzie Gore (7-10, 4.40 ERA) will look to rebound from a rare lackluster start following a solid stretch for Texas. The left-hander had allowed just four runs across four starts before struggling the last time out. Gore gave up four runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings of a 10-4 road loss to the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday. He also struck out four and walked four in his shortest start since lasting just an inning against the Colorado Rockies on May 18. Gore is 2-2 with a 6.17 ERA in five career starts against the A's. He has faced them three times this year, going 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA. The Athletics (53-85) dropped their fourth straight game on Monday, matching the Los Angeles Angels for the most losses in the American League. The Athletics' run differential dropped to -198, more than 50 runs worse than any other major league club. With basically only pride to play for the rest of the way, the team can at least try to spoil the fun for the rest of the AL West. "We still have many games left in our division," Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. "We're a team that has the opportunity to shake up the West and determine who's going to the playoffs." The Athletics will open with left-handed reliever Brady Basso (0-1, 4.50), who has 22 strikeouts to just four walks in 28 innings over 20 games (three starts) this season. The team bumped the initially scheduled starter, J.T. Ginn (9-8, 3.71), to the series opener at Seattle on Thursday. Basso, a 16th-round draft pick by the Athletics in 2019, last made an outing as the opener against the Houston Astros on Aug. 23. He surrendered three runs on four hits -- including Jose Altuve's two-run homer -- in his lone inning before the Athletics rallied for a 7-6 victory. The 28-year-old has rebounded with only one run allowed in his last four innings over three relief appearances -- though that includes taking the loss in a 4-3 setback in 10 innings to the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. Basso is 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA in 5 2/3 innings in three career appearances (one start) against Texas. He threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with two strikeouts in a 5-3 home loss to the Rangers on Aug. 15. --Field Level Media