Rangers Have Grand Old Time against Brewers

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

September 8, 2025

Rangers 5, Brewers 0

ARLINGTON, Texas (Sept 8) — With a rare open roof, the Texas Rangers set the tone in their series against the Milwaukee Brewers by taking the opener, 5–0, Monday evening. Michael Helman treated the crowd of 20,791 to a grand slam in the fifth, guiding the Rangers to the win. They’ll aim for the series victory Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Jack Leiter (9–8, 3.74 ERA) will take the hill for the Rangers, while the Brewers have yet to name their starting pitcher for the middle game.

What the Hel-man

Nothing rippled the water for the first four and a half innings, but the Rangers chucked a massive stone in the water in the bottom of the fifth against Brewers starter Jose Quintana.

Jake Burger led off with a walk. He was tagged out at second on a 6–4 force play grounded into by Dylan Moore. Up next was Kyle Higashioka, who lined a double to left. At first the ball looked as if it made contact with the yellow line on top of the wall. The Rangers challenged, but the call was upheld, keeping Higashioka at second when replay showed that it barely missed the line, making contact underneath it.

Jonah Heim followed with a walk to load the bases.

On deck was Helman who blasted an 0–2 pitch to left, giving the Rangers a 4–0 lead as well as their first grand slam of the 2025 season. It was also Helman’s fourth long ball of the season.

They added one more in the bottom of the seventh. Heim singled to left with two outs in the frame to bring Helman up. He smacked his second double of the year to center to score Heim for his fifth RBI of the night, a new career high for the rookie outfielder.

What Went Right for the Rangers

The main thing the Rangers did right Monday was having Michael Helman on their roster. As previously mentioned, he drove in all five of the Rangers’ runs. He has been a breath of fresh air for them as his career has gotten off to a very promising start.

Let’s not forget the pitching staff, however. They held the best team in the majors scoreless for nine innings. That’s no easy task.

What Went Wrong for the Rangers

The Rangers did allow a fair amount of baserunners on Monday. The pitching staff gave up six hits and walked two.

Latz Go

Rangers left-hander Jacob Latz turned in the longest scoreless outing of his career and earned the win in his 29th appearance of the season. His final line was 5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 84 pitches/58 strikes. The Rangers improved to 4–2 in his six starts this year, with Latz posting a 2.73 ERA in those outings. His record improves to 2–0 with an ERA of 2.91.

Latz has gone three or more innings and allowed two or fewer runs in all six starts. Lance Lynn, who had a seven game streak to begin 2020, is the only Ranger with a longer such streak of starts to begin a season. The southpaw lowered his season ERA to 2.91, sixth-best among AL lefties this season. There was no save recorded.

Tough Outing for Quintana

Brewers left-hander Jose Quintana drew the loss in Monday’s series opener in his 23rd start of the season. He drops to 11–6 with an ERA of 3.88. His line was 6 2/3 IP, 4 H, 5 R-ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 85 pitches/55 strikes. He did not allow a baserunner until issuing a leadoff walk to Burger in the fifth. The last time Quintana had no baserunners through his first four or more innings of a start was July 10, 2014 against the Boston Red Sox while pitching for the Chicago White Sox.

Bochy’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy reflected on Helman’s night. “I can’t think of a club that’s had to call on so many young guys to help,” he said. “I mean, with the number of injuries that we have, it’s so important to have depth. To acquire [Helman] during the season, obviously, that was very, very big for us. But really, everybody. They’ve all done some really good things to help us. We’ve needed it. With what we’re dealing with, it’s good to see how this group has come together and just keep playing good baseball.”