ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers opened their four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays with a statement performance Friday night, combining seven scoreless innings from Cal Quantrill with timely hitting to cruise to a 6-0 victory at Globe Life Field.
The win extended Texas’ home winning streak against Tampa Bay to 10 games, dating to July 17, 2023. It is the Rangers’ longest active home winning streak against any opponent.
Texas also recorded its 13th shutout of the season, tied for the third-most in the American League. The Rangers improved to 52-17 when scoring first this season and have now won three of the first four games of their seven-game homestand.
Quantrill continues to roll
Quantrill was once again in control, allowing only two hits and two walks while striking out five over seven scoreless innings. He threw 95 pitches, 61 for strikes, and worked around his biggest jam in the seventh after issuing two walks.
The right-hander improved to 7-0 on the season and has been one of the Rangers’ most reliable starters in recent weeks.
Since July 28, Quantrill is 4-2 with a 1.25 ERA over 43⅓ innings, the lowest qualifying ERA in the majors during that span. He has also delivered four consecutive quality starts.
Against Tampa Bay this season, Quantrill is 2-0 with a 0.73 ERA across 12⅓ innings. His career ERA against the Rays has dropped to 1.77 in seven starts.
As a starter for Texas this season, Quantrill owns a 2.27 ERA over 12 starts.
Rangers’ offense comes through
Texas broke through against Shane McClanahan in the fourth inning when Justin Foscue delivered a two-out RBI single to put the Rangers ahead 1-0.
Foscue has been particularly productive in two-out situations this season, batting .300 with 13 RBI in those opportunities. He is also hitting .308 against left-handed starters.
Ezequiel Duran added another run in the fifth with an RBI single, extending his recent hot streak. Duran has driven in at least one run in three straight games and four of his last five.
He has collected 12 RBI since Aug. 23, the most in the American League during that stretch, and now has 76 RBI for the season.
Corey Seager followed with the biggest blow of the night, launching a two-run homer in the fifth to push Texas’ lead to 4-0.
The homer was Seager’s 14th of the season and his first since Aug. 20, ending a 58-plate-appearance drought without a home run. It was also his fourth homer of the season against a left-handed pitcher.
The timing was notable as well: the homer came on the 11th anniversary of Seager’s major league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Evan Carter added an insurance run in the eighth with an RBI triple down the right-field line, giving him three triples this season — a new career high.
Rays struggle to generate offense
Tampa Bay managed only three hits, all singles, and failed to record an extra-base hit. It marked the Rays’ ninth shutout loss of the season and their first since July 17 against Boston.
The three-hit performance matched Tampa Bay’s season low.
The Rays have now lost 10 consecutive games at Globe Life Field, with their last victory in Arlington coming before the start of the 2023 season.
Tampa Bay has also cooled considerably after a strong stretch earlier this summer. The Rays are 9-11 over their last 20 games after going 18-4 from July 20 through Aug. 12.
McClanahan takes the loss
McClanahan was charged with the loss after surrendering four earned runs on six hits over five innings. He struck out three and walked one.
The outing marked his first September start since 2022. McClanahan missed portions of the previous three seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
He held Texas scoreless through the first three innings before the Rangers broke through in the fourth and then scored three times in the fifth.
Despite the loss, McClanahan reached another career milestone, with his three strikeouts bringing him to 562 for his career, tying Chris Archer for the fourth-most strikeouts by a Rays pitcher through his first four major league seasons.
The Rangers will look to keep the momentum going as the four-game series continues at Globe Life Field.
