Aranda, Rays Edge Rangers

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

September 4, 2026

Rays 7, Rangers 6

ARLINGTON, Texas (Sep 4) — The Texas Rangers couldn’t complete their comeback as they fell to the Tampa Bay Rays, 7–6, Friday evening. Jonathan Aranda was the difference maker in this one with a homer and an RBI double to his credit, giving his team its first win in Arlington since 2022.

With this loss, the Rangers fall three games behind the AL West-leading Houston Astros, 3–1 winners over the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday. The Rangers will look to bounce back in the third installment of this four-game series on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. It will be a matchup of righties as Drew Rasmussen (14–5, 2.95 ERA) will go up against Jacob deGrom (10–9, 4.00 ERA) in that contest.

Rangers — Rays Game Summary

The Rangers scored first in the bottom of the second off right-hander Nick Martinez. On the first pitch of the frame, Ezequiel Duran sent one over the wall in center. It was his 17th home run of the year.

The Rays tied it in the top of the third against Kumar Rocker. With one out, Aranda stepped in and deposited a 1–0 pitch into the Rangers’ bullpen in right-center.

The Rays jumped in front in the top of the fourth. Richie Palacios came up to bat and hit a 2–0 pitch to right for his seventh dinger of the season.

The lead stretched to 6–1 in the top of the fifth. Yandy Diaz led off with a double to right and scored thanks to a ground-rule double down the line in left by Aranda. Up next was Junior Caminero, who brought Aranda home with the Rays’ third double of the frame. Liam Hicks popped up to second. Caminero scored on a single to center by Victor Mesa Jr. A fielding error by Evan Carter in center allowed Mesa to advance to second on the play. Mesa went to third on an infield single by Chandler Simpson that tied up Corey Seager at short. Mesa crossed the plate when Cedric Mullins grounded into a double play.

Rangers Make Things Interesting

The Rangers closed the gap in the bottom of the seventh. Jake Burger drew a one-out walk and Carter followed with a single to center. Rays manager Kevin Cash came to the mound to bring in Garrett Cleavinger in relief of Martinez. Cody Freeman drew a free pass to load the bases. On deck was Elias Diaz, who demolished a 1–2 pitch, sending it to left-center for the Rangers’ first grand slam of 2026 and the fourth of Diaz’ career. It also marked the seventh homer of the season for Diaz.

The Rays added an insurance run in the top of the ninth with reliever Tyler Alexander pitching. After Taylor Walls grounded to third, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker brought in Chase Silseth to relieve Alexander. The first batter he faced was Diaz, who singled to right. Diaz was lifted for pinch-runner Jorge Mateo, who promptly stole second. That brought up Aranda, who was hit by a pitch. On deck was Caminero, who drove in Mateo with a single up the middle.

The Rangers managed to score one more in the bottom of the ninth off reliever Bryan Baker. Burger and Carter drew back-to-back walks to open the inning. An injury to Baker prompted Cash to bring in reliever Tyler Wells. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt to third by Nicky Lopez, and Burger scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Elias Diaz.

What Went Right for the Rays

Aranda and Yandy Diaz both had a nice night for the Rays. Aranda hit his homer in the third, and he brought in Diaz with his ground-rule double in the fifth. Caminero also had a nice RBI double. The Rays produced several other scoring opportunities and kept the Rangers at bay the whole game.

What Went Wrong for the Rays

The Rays faced trouble early on with Duran’s homer in the second. The 25,584 fans in attendance thought the Rays had an easy win on the horizon until the seventh when Elias Diaz hit his grand slam as part of his five-RBI night. Additionally, Baker’s early departure could go under this heading depending on the diagnosis from the Rays medical team.

Rangers Use an Opener

Rangers right-hander Trevor Williams made his first start of the season in his second appearance with the Rangers, turning in a flawless first inning as an “opener.” Williams had exclusively pitched in relief this year in eight games with the Washington Nationals and one game with the Rangers until Friday. His last start came in his final outing of the 2025 campaign with the Nationals on July 2, 2025 versus the Detroit Tigers. Friday marked the shortest of his 179 career starts by both innings (1) and pitches (19).

Rocker was tagged with the loss in relief, bringing his record to 5–11 with a 4.61 ERA. His final line was 5 IP, 9 H, 6 R-5 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2 HR, 73 pitches/51 strikes. The nine hits he allowed were second-most in his career and most by a Rangers reliever since Caleb Boushley (10 hits) on June 22, 2025 at the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Rocker made his third career bulk relief appearance and his first at Globe Life Field. He entered to begin the top of the third and allowed runs in each of his first three frames.

Schumaker’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Schumaker reflected on what he saw in Friday’s game. “It’s just a tough loss today,” he said. “The offense gave us such a nice comeback, (Elias) Diaz having a big night with five RBI. The offense provided a lot of runs. Unfortunately in the fifth inning, we couldn’t contain them.”