Texas Kept a Chance Alive for Seven Innings. The Mets Took the Last Two.

The final score says 7-2, which is technically correct and editorially a little rude to the game the Texas Rangers actually played for seven innings.

At 2-2 after five, Texas had erased Juan Soto’s two-run homer, survived Cody Bradford’s early departure and kept New York from converting several promising innings. The Mets eventually pulled away with Marcus Semien’s eighth-inning solo homer and Brett Baty’s ninth-inning grand slam, but the margin obscures how long this remained a reachable game for the Rangers.

Bradford’s line was better than the final result suggests. He worked 4 1/3 innings, allowed four hits and two earned runs, walked nobody and struck out one. The only runs charged to him came on Soto’s third-inning homer, after Francisco Lindor’s sharp single put a runner aboard.

That was the kind of mistake a dangerous lineup can punish, but it was also the only scoring damage Bradford surrendered.

His fifth inning became more complicated. Francisco Alvarez singled, and A.J. Ewing reached on a bunt single before Bradford recorded the next out.

Tyler Alexander entered and retired Lindor on a fly ball for the second out. He then intentionally walked Soto to load the bases and got Bo Bichette to ground out. The Mets left all three runners stranded, and Texas was still within two runs.

That mattered because the Rangers answered immediately. Brandon Nimmo opened the bottom of the fifth with a single, moved to second on Ezequiel Duran’s groundout and scored when Jake Burger singled. Nicky Lopez followed with another single, and Danny Jansen walked to load the bases with one out.

Texas did not turn that chance into a lead, but it did tie the game. Evan Carter’s grounder produced a force out at second while Burger scored, leaving Lopez at third and Carter at first. Wyatt Langford then popped out, ending the inning at 2-2. It was a useful recovery, even if the rally stopped short of becoming something larger.

The competitive middle innings belonged as much to the pitchers who prevented separation as to the hitters who created it. Alexander retired the Mets in order in the sixth, striking out Benge and finishing the inning with a groundout by Semien. Nolan McLean, meanwhile, gave New York seven innings while allowing three hits, two runs, one walk and five strikeouts.

He did not pitch a shutout, but he repeatedly kept Texas from building on its tie.

The seventh offered another example. Alvarez singled and Ewing walked, putting two runners aboard with nobody out. New York’s lineup again brought Soto to the plate, and Texas again issued an intentional walk.

The decision put three runners on, but it also set up a force situation. Alexander had already escaped one such inning, and this time Jacob Latz finished the job: Bichette flew out, and the Mets remained scoreless.

That left the Rangers level through seven, with the game still balanced on the next clean swing. Texas had only four hits all night, but the score was not asking for an offensive masterpiece. Texas still had a chance to take the lead before the game reached its final inning.

Instead, Semien supplied the separation for New York. With two outs in the eighth, he hit a solo homer off Jacob Latz, making it 3-2. The blast was modest in size but enormous in timing. Devin Williams then retired Texas in order in the bottom half, striking out Langford and preserving the one-run advantage.

The ninth made the earlier tension disappear. Jordan Montgomery retired the first batter, allowed a single to Nick Morabito, got Lindor to move the runner to second and then intentionally walked Soto. Bo Bichette walked against Trevor Williams, loading the bases with two outs. Baty followed with a grand slam, turning a one-run game into 7-2 in one swing.

Baty’s grand slam belongs in the account of the loss. So do Alexander’s escape, Texas’ two-run rally and Latz’s seventh-inning work. Those contributions carried the Rangers into the eighth level. The final margin was five runs, but Texas spent much of the evening within one productive inning of taking control. The Mets were the team that finally produced it.

Sources

Official game data

Official game box score