ARLINGTON -- With a growing sense of urgency as the postseason nears, the Rangers can hardly afford to waste any start from Jacob deGrom, however abbreviated those outings might be.
After dealing with groin tightness in his previous start, deGrom only made it five innings in Tuesday night’s 4-2 win over the Red Sox. But even in a somewhat limited capacity, he continued to dominate, striking out eight while allowing two earned runs on three hits and a walk as he improved to 11-9 on the season.
Last time out, in Seattle, deGrom was pulled after six scoreless innings. He allowed only one hit on 92 pitches, but the Rangers’ bullpen quickly surrendered the lead and the game. On Tuesday at Globe Life Field, the Rangers’ relievers were up to the task.
The combination of Chase Silseth, Tyler Alexander and Robert Garcia recorded the next seven outs before closer Jacob Latz had to clean up a dicey jam in the eighth inning. Garcia allowed a single and a walk before Latz got the final two outs of the inning, the latter on a strikeout of pinch-hitter Andruw Monasterio.
Latz returned for a scoreless ninth inning, earning his 30th save of the season. He’s 9-for-9 in save opportunities since Aug. 7, and his 13 saves of 1 1/3 or more innings lead the Majors. No Rangers reliever has recorded that many saves of four outs or more since Tom Henke in 1993.
As they began the final 12-game stretch of the season, which includes nine games at home, the Rangers struck early with four runs in the second inning off Sox lefty Patrick Sandoval. Elias Diaz plated two with a double, and Corey Seager drove home two more with a well-placed blooper to left field.