Helman Homers Again as Rangers Beat Brewers

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

September 10, 2025

Rangers 5, Brewers 4

ARLINGTON, Texas (Sept 9) — The Texas Rangers have a winning streak on their hands as they won their third straight game edging the Milwaukee Brewers, 5–4, Tuesday evening. Michael Helman hit his second homer in as many days to lift his team to another series victory. The Rangers will try for the three-game sweep in a Wednesday matinee with first pitch scheduled for 1:35 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Freddy Peralta (16–5, 2.50 ERA) will take the mound for the Brewers, while righty Merrill Kelly (11–7, 3.16 ERA) will get the ball for the Rangers.

The Michael Helman Show

The Rangers scored first in the bottom of the second with righty Chad Patrick on the mound. Josh Jung drew a walk with one out in the frame. Alejandro Osuna moved him into scoring position with a single to left. Jung scored thanks to a single to right by Cody Freeman.

Fast forward to the top of the fifth. The Brewers tied it against lefty Jack Leiter.

Joey Ortiz hit a one-out infield single on a ball that Josh Smith had a hard time getting to. Two batters later, Ortiz advanced to third on a ground-rule double to right by Jackson Chourio. Up next was Christian Yelich who drove in Ortiz with a single that eluded Leiter in front of the mound.

Moments later, Yelich stole second, giving him 16 steals on the year.

On deck was William Contreras who plated both runners with a sharp single up the middle.

The Rangers responded in the bottom of the fifth. After Freeman struck out swinging to lead off, Jonah Heim reached on a walk.

That brought up Helman, who hit a grand slam in Monday’s contest. He smashed a 1–0 pitch for a two-run home run to left-center, giving him seven RBI in the last 24 hours and tying it at three all.

That led Brewers manager Pat Murphy, who didn’t appear to have any pancakes in his pocket, to the mound to bring in reliever Aaron Ashby.

Smith reached on a single to center and Wyatt Langford plated him with a triple up the middle, his first of the season, to give the Rangers a 4–3 lead.

Kyle Higashioka came off the bench to pinch-hit for Joc Pederson, scoring Langford with a double to center, his 14th of the year, to make it 5–3 Rangers.

Brewers Put On Pressure

The Brewers got one more back in the top of the ninth off reliever Shawn Armstrong. With one out in the frame, Jake Bauers stepped in to pinch-hit for Andruw Monasterio. He connected on the first pitch he saw, sending it to deep center for a solo homer, his seventh of the year.

What Went Right for the Rangers

It was only one run, but the Rangers set the tone by getting an early lead in the second. Not only did they add on to said lead, but they were able to keep it the entire evening. That sort of thing can help ease the tension on the bench.

What Went Wrong for the Rangers

As far as their pitching goes, they faced a couple of hiccups but were able to right the ship, especially through the unexpected rainstorm of Bauers’ blast in the ninth.

Short Evening for Leiter

Rangers right-hander Jack Leiter did not factor into Tuesday’s decision after giving up three runs, all earned, over 4 2/3 innings. His final line was 4 2/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R-ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 89 pitches/57 strikes. Tuesday marked his highest hit total in a single outing since June 29 against the Seattle Mariners, also 7 hits. Leiter struck out the side in order in the third, marking his second time this season to fan all batters in a frame. He opened his outing with four scoreless frames before encountering trouble in the fifth. Leiter recorded two outs in the fifth before surrendering three consecutive hits and departing with a 3–1 deficit. Hoby Milner, who entered in relief of Leiter, got the third out on one pitch, stranding Contreras at first.

Milner’s performance earned him his third win of the season, improving his record to 3–4 with an ERA of 3.50. He entered with two outs in the fifth and tossed one inning, surrendering one hit.

Armstrong notched his eighth save of 2025, pitching one inning and allowing one earned run on two hits.

Patrick’s Outing

Brewers starter Chad Patrick took a no-decision after being recalled from Triple-A Nashville Tuesday for the fourth stint of his rookie campaign with the Brewers. His line was 4 1/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R-ER, 3 BB, 6 SO, 1 HR, 80 pitches/47 strikes. He ended a nine-start streak in the majors with five or more innings, which is the longest run by a rookie in 2025 and was the longest streak by a Brewers rookie since Junior Guerra (16 straight starts with 5.0 IP) in 2016. Patrick struck out the side in the first inning, doing so in two straight outings.

The loss went to Ashby, bringing his record to 3–2 with an ERA of 2.56. He pitched an inning and two-thirds, giving up two runs, both earned, on four hits. He also struck out two.

Bochy’s Postgame Comments

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy held court with reporters after the game, discussing the surprise that is Michael Helman. “I’m happy for this guy,” Bochy said. “Here he is getting a chance and taking full advantage of it. He’s been fun to watch. … Michael has had two terrific games, but he’s helped us in some other games too. He’s spent a lot of time in the Minor Leagues and put on waivers, all those things. I couldn’t be happier for a guy like this. We’re having fun with it, watching this guy play so well.”

Leiter’s Postgame Comments

After Bochy exited the interview room, Leiter made an appearance, echoing Bochy’s sentiments about Helman. “This was Helman’s game,” he said. “It’s two in a row …It’s a pretty unbelievable two days. I’m sure he’d say that’s pretty hard to top for the best two days of his life. It’s incredible. He’s a really good player, works super hard and is just a great guy all around. It’s cool to see something like that happen. He’s earned it.”