Rangers Walk It off Against Guardians

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

August 23, 2025

Rangers 4, Guardians 3

ARLINGTON, Texas (Aug 22) — The Texas Rangers pulled a rabbit out of their hat as they came back to beat the Cleveland Guardians, 4–3, Friday night. It was the same evening in which the Rangers honored Hall of Fame third baseman Adrian Beltre with a statue. A spectacular walk-off extra-base hit by Joc Pederson did the trick for a Rangers team that is coming off a road trip where they went 2–5. They’ll have a chance to win this three-game series Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Lefty Logan Allen (7–9, 3.87 ERA) will take the hill for the Guardians, while right-hander Jack Leiter (7–7, 4.06 ERA) will get the ball for the Rangers.

Rowdy Says Howdy

The Guardians took a 1–0 lead in the top of the second against right-hander Nathan Eovaldi. Carlos Santana led off with a double to left, his 10th of the year.

C.J. Kayfus followed with a double of his own that also went to left, allowing Santana to cross the plate.

The Rangers tied it 1–1 in the bottom of the fifth off righty Slade Cecconi with a homer to left by Rowdy Tellez. It marked his 14th home run of the season.

The home-nine took a 2–1 lead in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out solo blast to left-center by Wyatt Langford, his 19th of the year.

The Guardians took a 3–2 lead in the top of the eighth with reliever Hoby Milner pitching for the Rangers. David Fry entered as a pinch-hitter for Bo Naylor and was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Nolan Jones came in to pinch-run for Fry.

Up next was Brayan Rocchio, who moved Jones to second with a single to left. A bunt single back to the mound by Steven Kwan moved both runners up a base.

The Guardians sent in Angel Martinez to pinch-hit for Daniel Schneemann. Phil Maton came in to pitch for the Rangers.

After Martinez struck out swinging, Jose Ramirez doubled to right to score Jones and Rocchio.

Walk Off!

The Rangers made their comeback in the bottom of the ninth off reliever Cade Smith.

Langford led off with a double to center to get the crowd of 26,729 to their feet.

Corey Seager scored him moments later with a sharp single to center to tie it, 3–3.

Up next was Pederson, who hit a dramatic double to right to plate Seager. This netted a much-needed win for the Rangers.

What Went Right for the Rangers

The Rangers were eager to turn the page after their most recent road trip. Friday’s win was a step forward as they picked up a bit of momentum. They really never stopped playing the game. Defensively, they did a nice job of not letting the game get out of hand. The two-run ninth was also huge for them. Langford, Seager, and Pederson did their part to make it happen.

What Went Wrong for the Rangers

The RBI double by Kayfus was the Rangers’ first road block of the evening, but it was Ramirez’ two-run double in the eighth inning that really hurt them. Another concern for the Rangers on Friday was Milner’s outing in which he threw only four pitches before manager Bruce Bochy had to bring the hook.

Tough Luck for Eovaldi

Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi limited the Guardians to one run over seven sharp innings but did not factor into the decision. His final line was 4 H, 0 BB, 9 SO, 104 pitches/70 strikes. He reached qualifying status on the season (130 IP in 130 games) and lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.73, the best mark by a Senators/Rangers pitcher through 22 starts in franchise history. Eovaldi has posted a 1.83 ERA in 12 starts following a Rangers loss this year.

Reliever Robert Garcia earned his second win of the season after tossing a 1–2–3 ninth, striking out one. His record now sits at 2–7 with an ERA of 3.47.

Cecconi’s Effort

Guardians starter Slade Cecconi also took a no-decision after allowing a season-low four hits in his 17th start of the season. His line was 6.0 IP, 2 R-ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 2 HR, 90 pitches/56 strikes. He retired the first seven Rangers batters in order before allowing a double to Ezequiel Duran. Cecconi has fashioned a 2.12 ERA during the first two frames of his starts this season. He surrendered the solo homers to Tellez in the fifth and Langford in the sixth, signaling the seventh straight start in which he has given up a long ball since July 18. He did not allow a walk for the third time this year, as he has walked only 26 of 407 (6.4%) batters faced this season.

After surrendering Pederson’s walk-off double, Smith was saddled with the loss, bringing his record to 5–5 with a delicious-sounding ERA of 3.14.

Bochy’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Bochy’s remarks focused on Cy Young hopeful Nathan Eovaldi. “It’s obvious he’s deserving, but that stuff will take care of itself. … Nate’s not thinking about that, he’s thinking about winning a ballgame,” he said. “These are things that at the end of the year, they’ll be talked about. But what he’s done for us, it’s just an incredible job that he’s done this year. In the games that we need to win, he just steps up and finds a way.”

Eovaldi’s Postgame Comments

Eovaldi himself also made an appearance after the game. “Of course — I mean, I go out there and I try to be able to go deep into the game,” he remarked. “To me, pitching wins championships, and we have a great pitching staff right now, and we have that ability to go out there and get hot and let somebody be the hero tonight.”