Rangers Drop Series Finale to Tigers

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

July 20, 2025

Tigers 2, Rangers 1

ARLINGTON, Texas (Jul 20) — The Texas Rangers fell short in their series finale against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, losing 2–1 on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. The Tigers rode a late-inning RBI single by Matt Vierling to victory on a night where runs were in short supply for both teams. This win breaks the Tigers’ season-high six-game losing streak. With this series in the books, the Rangers host the Athletics for three starting Monday evening with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Left-hander Jacob Lopez (3–5, 4.20 ERA) will take the hill for the Athletics, and righty Jack Leiter (5–6, 4.37 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Rangers.

The Tigers, meanwhile, will embark on the final leg of their six-game road trip with a three-game set against their designated interleague rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates. That series will also begin on Monday with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm Eastern at PNC Park. Right-hander Jack Flaherty (5–9, 4.65 ERA) will take the mound for the Tigers, while fellow righty Paul Skenes (4–8, 2.01 ERA) will make the start for the Pirates.

Low-Scoring Affair

The Tigers took a 1–0 lead in the top of the second off Rangers starter Jacob Latz. Wenceel Perez led off with a single to left. After Vierling flied to right, Perez sprinted to second on a sharp single to center by Dillon Dingler. Zach McKinstry followed with another single that scored Perez.

The Rangers tied it up in the bottom of the seventh against Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal. A one-out double to left by Adolis Garcia set the table. He was moved to third moments later on a single up the middle by Kyle Higashioka.

Skubal struck out Jonah Heim swinging before manager A.J. Hinch brought in lefty Tyler Holton.

After things settled down, Higashioka stole third for his third stolen base of the year. A wild pitch from Holton allowed Garcia to score.

The Tigers regained the lead in the top of the eighth off reliever Chris Martin. Gleyber Torres led off with an infield single that gave Corey Seager trouble at short. Riley Greene moved him to second with another infield single to short.

Three batters later, Vierling drove in Torres with a single to center to make it 2–1 Tigers.

What Went Right for the Tigers

The Tigers had to fight to win this game. There weren’t very many scoring opportunities for either team. Their biggest hit of the night was the go-ahead single by Vierling.

They also had a nice pitching performance from Skubal.

What Went Wrong for the Tigers

One pitch Holton probably wants back was his wild pitch in the seventh that scored Garcia.

No-Decision for Latz

Rangers starter Jacob Latz did not factor into the decision of the game, despite limiting the Tigers to one run over five innings. His line was 6 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 84 pitches/51 strikes. He allowed three singles over a four-batter span in the second – including McKinstry’s RBI knock that got the Tigers on the board.

He induced 10 swing-and-miss strikes, and has recorded 10+ whiffs in six of his last 10 outings. Latz had a 32.3% whiff rate entering play Sunday. He has posted a 2.38 ERA over his last 15 games, three of them starts, to lower his season ERA from 4.76 to 2.89.

After giving up the go-ahead run, Martin took the loss, bringing his record to 1–6 with an ERA of 2.36.

Tough Luck for Skubal

Tigers starter Tarik Skubal lowered his ERA to 2.19 with 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball in a no-decision. His 11 strikeouts were one shy of a Globe Life Field facility record. The only run charged to him scored on a wild pitch by Holton in the seventh after Skubal departed with two on and two out.

Skubal tossed a season-high 105 pitches, his second-most in any outing of his career. He leads the majors with seven games of 10 or more strikeouts, three more than any other pitcher. He tallied seven strikeouts in his first three frames, second-most through three innings in his career.

After tossing one inning with two strikeouts, Holton notched the win, improving his record to 5–3 with an ERA of 3.60.

Will Vest pitched a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts to earn his 16th save of the season.

Bochy’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy gave his thoughts on Latz’ night. “I think you have to give credit to our pitchers,” he said. “They rose to the occasion. Latz, he battled hard. He was a little off with his command, a lot of deep counts, but he left the game with one run. Really couldn’t ask for more. … [Skubal] is one of the best in the game. It’s tough duty for hitters. You just hope your pitching steps up, which they did. [Latz] has done a terrific job.”