MacKenzie Gore will take the mound for the Texas Rangers in Game 162 with the American League West title still within reach.
Texas enters Sunday at 80-81, tied with the Houston Astros for first place. Houston holds the season-series tiebreaker, meaning the Rangers need to beat the Minnesota Twins and have the Astros lose to the Athletics to claim the division.
Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reported that Gore will get the ball for the decisive finale at Target Field, putting the left-hander at the center of Texas’ final push.
Gore has made 33 starts this season and enters his final scheduled outing with an 8-11 record, 4.59 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 174 strikeouts across 170⅔ innings. He allowed one earned run over five innings against the New York Mets in his previous start on Sept. 22.
The Rangers will need more from their offense after Minnesota beat them 10-2 on Friday. Texas answered Saturday with a 6-2 victory, with Danny Jansen hitting a two-run homer and Jake Burger also going deep to keep the division race alive.
The lineup has also lost Josh Jung at the worst possible time. The third baseman was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a right-hand fracture after being hit by a pitch. Joc Pederson is also sidelined with a hand injury.
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Minnesota enters Game 162 at 76-85 and has already won the series opener against Texas. Luke Keaschall has been one of the Twins’ hottest hitters down the stretch, hitting .305 with an .822 OPS over his first 21 games in September.
For Texas, the equation is simple even if the afternoon will not be: win in Minnesota, then watch what happens in Houston’s game against Oakland.
