After win streak reaches 4, Bochy says victory reminds him of '23

ARLINGTON -- Adolis García raised his arms above his head as he ran out of the box, not yet at full speed. The ball went right up the middle, but well out of reach of White Sox shortstop Nicky Lopez, as Corey Seager went from second to home to score the tying run at the time.

Then, García turned on the jets, hustling to turn a single into shallow left field into a double. The Rangers right fielder would eventually come around to score on a Nathaniel Lowe single.

It felt like a sense of urgency for García, who collected a pair of singles, a double and a stolen base in the Rangers’ 10-2 win over the White Sox on Wednesday night. It almost felt like that sense of urgency has permeated through the Texas clubhouse this last week.

“There’s no getting around it, for us to have success, those are our guys and it's gonna be important that everybody does something to contribute, but especially your core guys like [Adolis],” said manager Bruce Bochy. “You need them to swing the bat like they can and tonight was a great sign.”

In the win, the Rangers' offense exploded for the first time since the All-Star break, putting up 10 runs on 15 hits. They broke it open with a six-run eighth inning capped off by three-run homer from Lowe. Texas hadn’t scored more than four runs since July 9 in Anaheim. It also had not recorded more than eight hits in its last 10 games.

For the first time in a while, it looked like a championship team.

“It feels good to put a team away,” Lowe said. “I think regardless of who the opponent is, we haven't had a game recently where we've scored big late and just kind of really stepped on somebody's neck.”

Garcia had his first multi-hit game since June 29 and first three-hit game since April 10. Corey Seager finished a triple shy of the cycle, but still had four hits. Josh Smith (two singles), Marcus Semien (two walks, single) and Lowe (walk, single, homer) all reached base multiple times.

Texas ace Nathan Eovaldi dealt a quality start, allowing just two runs in seven innings. He also struck out 10 batters, marking his first first double-digit strikeout game since May 11, 2023 at Oakland.

It wasn’t all perfect, but it felt like a complete Rangers win. It felt like exactly what the club needed with the July 30 Trade Deadline on the horizon.

“Well, it's what we saw a lot of in 2023,” Bochy said. “Tonight, it was more who we are. We've been playing a lot of close games and we’ve been missing out on the occasional big hit there but we've been playing well in these tight games, so it's good to see these guys break out and have success. We have a lot of baseball left here and I just feel so encouraged.”

The win over the White Sox extended the Rangers’ streak to four games, just one shy of the season high. Texas is now 13-6 over its last 19 games, and as few games as two under .500 for the first time since June 13 at the Dodgers.

“The energy in the clubhouse is definitely a lot better than it has been,” Eovaldi said. “It doesn't matter who you're playing out there, when you win you win. There's a lot of energy in the dugout now and that's what I feel like we were missing throughout the season”

The Rangers are currently three games back of the Astros for first place in the AL West. They’re two back of the Mariners in second and 5.5 back of the last Wild Card spot. The Deadline is fast approaching, and hangs over a clubhouse that is trying not to think about how it could be different in six days time.

But there’s never been any panic. The sense of urgency has been on display this week, but the Rangers have remained even keeling in their pursuit of a repeat bid.

“I think that as far as the entirety of the year, we've kind of underperformed,” Lowe said. “I think that's fair to say. So it's nice to see guys start to get going and to be a part of that. We didn't really play great in May or June and now here we are. Three games back with the deadline in a week and I think we're poised to make a pretty strong run.”