Rangers Fall Apart against Diamondbacks in Finale

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

August 14, 2025

Diamondbacks 6, Rangers 4

ARLINGTON, Texas (Aug 13) — The Texas Rangers collapsed inches from the finish line as they lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6–4, Wednesday afternoon. James McCann and Ketel Marte both helped the Diamondbacks’ cause by hitting a homer apiece in the eighth to leapfrog the Rangers on the scoreboard. With this nine-game homestand behind them, the Rangers embark on a seven-game road trip beginning with three against the Toronto Blue Jays. That series will begin Friday with first pitch scheduled for 7:07 pm Eastern. It will be a duel of righties as Jacob deGrom (10–5, 2.86 ERA) will take the hill for the Rangers, and Chris Bassitt (11–6, 4.17 ERA) will get the ball for the Blue Jays.

As for the Diamondbacks, they’ll head to the Mile High City for four games against the Colorado Rockies. That set will begin Thursday evening with first pitch scheduled for 5:40 pm Mountain Time. Lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (4–7, 5.68 ERA) will make his 21st start for the Diamondbacks, while righty Bradley Blalock (1–3, 7.89 ERA) will get the ball for the Rockies.

Welcome Back Mr. Carter

The Rangers got on the board in the bottom of the first against Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen. Josh Smith led off with a single to left. Corey Seager followed with a fly-out to center, bringing up Marcus Semien. He drew a walk. Two batters later, Evan Carter singled to right, scoring Smith in the process.

Carter was activated from the 10-day IL (back spasms) prior to Wednesday’s game.

The Diamondbacks knotted things up at one run apiece in the top of the third off a familiar face in Merrill Kelly.

Geraldo Perdomo was issued a two-out free pass. He promptly stole second for his 19th stolen bag of the year. Up next was Marte, who scored Perdomo with a line drive single to left.

The Rangers took a 3–1 lead in the bottom of the fourth.

A leadoff double to center by Carter set the table for Burger, who launched a two-run home run to left-center, his 12th of the season.

The Diamondbacks responded in the top of the fifth with a two-out solo blast by Perdomo.

An insurance run in the bottom of the eighth extended the Rangers’ lead to 4–2.

With two outs, and John Curtiss pitching for the Diamondbacks, Burger singled to right to bring up Josh Jung. He scored Burger with a double up the middle, his 12th of the season.

Not So Fast

In an odd turn of events, the Diamondbacks took a 6–4 lead in the top of the ninth off reliever Phil Maton.

James McCann hit a two-out solo home run to left. Blaze Alexander followed with a hit-by-pitch from Maton.

Up next was Perdomo, who drew a walk. That brought up Marte, who blasted a three-run shot past the Rangers’ bullpen in right-center.

What Went Right for the Diamondbacks

At one point, the Diamondbacks were behind, 3–1. They scored on a lot of the chances they were given. The one that really hurt the Rangers was Perdomo’s three-run dinger in the eighth.

What Went Wrong for the Diamondbacks

It might be safe to say that the Diamondbacks won’t be eating burgers for a while. Jake Burger’s two-run home run in the fourth was a bit of a blow to the Diamondbacks.

Quality Start for Kelly

Rangers starter Merrill Kelly recorded a quality start in his first career outing against his former club. His line was 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R-ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR, 98 pitches/61 strikes. He scattered three singles during his first two passes through the D-backs order, with an RBI knock in the third being the lone blemish in that stretch.

Kelly conceded hits to four straight batters with two outs in the fifth, but was picked up by Ezequiel Duran’s inning-ending outfield assist that ended further damage. He coasted through a 1-2-3 sixth frame to close his outing. Kelly has allowed two in six of his last seven starts, with Quality Starts in four of those seven starts. He has a 2.88 ERA in that span.

Maton shouldered the loss after giving up both homers in the eighth. That brings his record to 2–4 with an ERA of 3.02.

No-Decision for Gallen

Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen did not factor into the decision after allowing three runs, all earned, in five innings. His line was 5 H, 2 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 98 pitches/61 strikes. He allowed runs in the first and fourth innings, including the Burger homer. His one strikeout was a season low

Gallen snapped a streak of four starts in which he had worked exactly six frames. He still has a 3.18 ERA over his last three starts to drop his season ERA from 5.60 to 5.31.

Curtiss walked away with the win, improving his record to 2–0 with an ERA of 4.19. He gave up two runs, one earned, on two hits. He also walked one.

After tossing a 1–2–3 ninth inning, Saalfrank notched his first save of the season.

Bochy’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy scratched his head before trying to explain this game. “It just got away from us there in the ninth,” he said. “[Maton] was locked in, he had nine straight strikes, I think, and he’s lost his feel there a little bit. That’s a tough one, to be two outs in the ninth. Those are always tough. They sting when you lose, like we did today.”

“We’ve got to bounce back,” Bochy continued. “In this game, you’ve gotta be resilient. I keep talking about that. We’ve gotta put this behind us. There’s baseball left, but we gotta win games.”