The Texas Rangers close out their final homestand of the season when they clash with the Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon in the finale of a three-game series in Arlington, Texas.
The Twins (68-90) will send right-hander Bailey Ober (5-9, 5.32 ERA) to the hill to start while Texas (80-78) will counter with right-hander Tyler Mahle (6-3, 2.20).
Neither team is in contention for the postseason, with the Rangers’ fleeting hopes ultimately extinguished on Tuesday with a 4-1 loss to the Twins for their eighth consecutive setback.
Josh Smith homered and Billy McKinney drove in the lead run only hours after his return to the major leagues to help the Rangers even the series with a 4-2 victory on Wednesday. The loss ended Minnesota’s modest two-game winning streak after a five-game skid.
“We’ve got to keep our focus,” Texas catcher Kyle Higashioka said after Tuesday’s loss. “We’re not playing for much, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to go out and play our best. We’ve got to play the way we are capable. We’ve got to stay focused for the sake of integrity.”
Mahle came off a more than three-month stint on the injured list with shoulder fatigue to produce 4 2/3 scoreless innings on Friday against the visiting Miami Marlins. He was not involved in the decision in a game the Rangers dropped 6-4 in 12 innings.
“I felt really good,” Mahle said afterward. “I felt like I never missed a step from where I left off. I just made pitches and had good defense behind me. Just making pitches. Focus on making pitches. To go off into the offseason healthy is big, even though it might only be two starts.”
Mahle’s start on Thursday will be his 16th of the season and his 10th of the year at home. In his first nine home appearances, Mahle wnt 4-1 with a 0.74 ERA in 48 2/3 innings. He has not allowed a home run in a home start in 2025.
Mahle has faced the Twins six times in his career, amassing a 2-0 mark with a 5.81 ERA over 26 1/3 innings. One of those wins was on June 10 in Minneapolis when he allowed four runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings in his final game before going on the injured list.
Minnesota was mathematically eliminated from the playoffs on Sept. 13 and has struggled all season.
Ober is 1-2 with a 6.33 ERA in his four starts in September and allowed six runs on eight hits and two walks in five innings in a home loss to Cleveland on Saturday in his most recent appearance.
“I feel like I’ve been a little off since the start of the season and have been battling through things all year,” Ober said. “I think I will be able to ramp things up in the offseason and get back on track, get back to my old self. I feel like I’m pretty close — physically, I’m feeling really good.”
Ober is 1-1 with a 7.32 ERA in four lifetime starts covering 19 2/3 innings against the Rangers. One of those appearances came on June 12 when he surrendered seven runs on six hits (four of them home runs) in a 16-3 loss at home.
-Field Level Media