Cavalli, Nationals Silence Rangers

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

August 19, 2026

Nationals 6, Rangers 0

ARLINGTON, Texas (Aug 19) — The Texas Rangers fell to the Washington Nationals, 6–0, Wednesday night. Andres Chaparro provided the big hit for the visiting nine with a three-run homer in the seventh inning. With this loss, the Rangers slip back to two games behind the AL West-leading Houston Astros, who edged the Los Angeles Angels, 3–2, Wednesday. The Rangers will try to claim this series in the rubber match Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Lefty Andrew Alvarez (2–4, 3.72 ERA) will face right-hander Jacob deGrom (8–8, 3.95 ERA) in the finale.

Rangers – Nationals Game Summary

Both teams traded zeroes for the first two innings. With temperatures reaching 102 degrees outside the ballpark, there wasn’t much ice to break. The Nationals, however, broke it in the top of the third against righty Kumar Rocker. With two outs, Jose Tena hit an 0–1 pitch into the Rangers’ bullpen in right-center for his seventh blast of the year.

The Nationals doubled their lead in the top of the fourth. Chaparro doubled to left to lead off the frame, and he scored thanks to a single to right by Keibert Ruiz.

The lead stretched to 3–0 in the top of the sixth off reliever Cole Winn. Chaparro opened the inning with a single up the middle. Ruiz moved him to second with a single that was out of the reach of second baseman Nicky Lopez. Both runners advanced 90 feet when Jacob Young laid down a sacrifice bunt to Ezequiel Duran at third. On deck was Jorbit Vivas, who plated Chaparro with an unassisted groundout to Winn between the mound and first base.

The Nationals added more insurance in the top of the seventh with reliever Peyton Gray on the hill. Abimelec Ortiz trotted to first with a one-out walk. Tena followed suit with a walk of his own. Both runners moved up when Daylen Lile grounded to Joc Pederson at first. That brought up Chaparro, who hit a no-doubter on a 2–1 pitch that snuck inside the foul pole and into the second deck in left. It was his eighth long ball of the season.

What Went Right for the Nationals

Chaparro accounted for five of the six runs in the game. He scored three and drove in three. (Editor’s Note: One of the three runs he drove in was himself, since he hit a three-run homer. That is why he accounted for five and not six.)

The home run ball accounted for four of the Nationals’ runs on Wednesday. Both Tena and Chaparro helped their team’s cause by going yard. Vivas chipped in as well with his groundout that scored Chaparro.

The pitching staff also did their job by allowing only five men to reach base. They also did not allow an extra-base hit. The four pitchers they used combined for 13 strikeouts versus one walk, which frustrated the crowd of 23,963.

What Went Wrong for the Nationals

The only thing that went wrong for the Nationals in this game was that it eventually came to an end.

Rocker Tosses Five Innings

Rangers starter Kumar Rocker was saddled with his 10th loss of the season. He is now 4–10 after allowing two runs, both earned, over his five frames Wednesday. His final line was 6 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 92 pitches/58 strikes. Rocker is winless over his four starts in August, going 0–2 with a 6.87 ERA, 10 walks, and 16 strikeouts. He has received three or fewer runs of support in all four outings.

Rocker has permitted a home run in six of his last eight starts, totaling nine bombs in that span (1.98 HR/9). This comes after pitching to a 0.90 HR/9 figure across his first 14 starts of the season. He landed 63.0% of his pitches for strikes Wednesday, one start after registering a career-low 50.0% strike percentage in an 8–3 loss against the Athletics on August 14. In that game, 47 of his 94 pitches were strikes.

Strikeout Artist

Nationals starter Cade Cavalli tallied 11 strikeouts, the second-highest total of his career, over six scoreless stanzas to improve to 11–5. His line was 3 H, 1 BB, 84 pitches/58 strikes. Cavalli was two strikeouts shy of matching a career-high total of 13, which he accomplished on June 30 at the Boston Red Sox. Each of his first eight outs came on strikeouts until Brandon Nimmo’s 4–3 grounder to end the bottom of the third. Cavalli recorded 10 punch-outs through four innings for the first time in his career, the eighth such start across the majors this year.

Cavalli is riding a career-long 17-inning scoreless streak since the fourth inning on August 7. That game was versus the Cincinnati Reds, as he’s totaled 21 strikeouts over 14 scoreless frames in his last two starts. He is the fourth pitcher in Expos/Nationals history with six or more innings pitched and 10 or more strikeouts in consecutive starts. Cavalli has 162 strikeouts on the season, fifth-most in the NL.

Schumaker’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker tried to pinpoint what went wrong on Wednesday. “We haven’t been very good at coming back from a deficit,” he remarked. “Early on [in the season], it felt like we could fight back. Maybe our bullpen was keeping us in games and giving us a chance to come back. But lately if we don’t score first, for whatever reason, it feels that we just haven’t been able to come back.