PHOENIX -- The drought is finally over.
The Rangers have won a road series.
Texas beat the Diamondbacks, 7-6, on Sunday afternoon to secure their first road series victory since taking back-to-back sets in Toronto and Cleveland from June 25-July 1. Corey Seager went 3-for-5 with a Statcast-projected 458-foot home run in the first inning, the farthest by a Ranger this season.
The stretch of eight straight road series losses was Texas’ longest since July 2-Aug. 26, 2021 (also eight straight). The club has never dropped nine straight road sets in the same season. Additionally, this is also the first rubber match the Rangers have won on the road since June 11 in Kansas City.
The series win allowed the Rangers to gain a game on the Astros in the American League West, with Houston reeling from being swept in Tampa Bay. The Rangers now sit one game back in the division and two back from the final AL Wild Card spot.
“It was a big road series,” said manager Skip Schumaker. “After a tough final game in Seattle, to come here and win two out of three against a really good team [is great]. Hopefully we can build that momentum going into a good homestand against some more tough teams. But that was a big win, and a much-needed win.”
Here are three takeaways from the road trip:
Quantrill continues phenomenal stretch
Rangers starter Cal Quantrill allowed two runs in six innings in the win, and has now made six consecutive quality starts -- the longest such span by a Ranger in 2026. He pitched to an efficient 70 pitches before he was removed with back tightness that cropped up midway through the game.
Schumaker said they decided batter to batter and inning to inning for a bit, before he was pulled after allowing a leadoff single in the seventh.
“We made the pitches we needed to make,” Quantrill said. “I wasn't quite as crisp as I've been recently. But we came on the road, I made two starts, and we won both games. I don't want to nitpick too much.”
Concern level seems low, and Quantrill said he’ll pitch the next turn through the rotation no matter what.
“We only got a couple left, we’ve got to send it,” he said. “There's no one here who feels good. It's a long season. It is what it is. I think I probably could have grinded and pushed through it, but I appreciate Skip trying to look out for me. We’ve got an off-day tomorrow, so I'll be ready to roll. I'll get my regular work in. I'm in a good spot.”
Jung powers through
Rangers third baseman Josh Jung (calf) was activated from the injured list ahead of Saturday’s game in Arizona and has hit the ground running, going 4-for-9 with two RBIs in his first pair of games back.
But he was pulled from Sunday’s game and replaced by utility infielder Nicky Lopez in the bottom of the sixth inning.
“There was a conversation [pregame] about how good he was feeling and if he was even going to start or DH,” Schumaker said. “He just didn't recover great, quite honestly. But he felt good enough to play. He wanted to play. I think it was a big moment for him to stay in the lineup to play and then produce. I'm happy that we all talked and decided that it was good enough for him to play.”
“I'm gonna play,” Jung added. “I'm gonna do everything I can. Might be sore, might be tight, I might be running slow. But I’m gonna play.”
Home cooking
Nine of the Rangers’ final 12 games of the season will come at Globe Life Field. They are 40-32 at home, going undefeated in their last seven home sets (6-0-1), good for the longest such streak in the Globe Life Field era.
“It feels fake,” Quantrill said of the Rangers’ 34-44 road record. “It feels like we're capable of playing good on the road. We just haven't. I don't think there's some magic bad juju for us. We just haven't played as good as we can on the road. I think we could have gone 4-2 on this road trip if we just would have closed out a game [in Seattle]. It is what it is. We’re giving ourselves a shot here. We'll go home and we'll try and play our best ball for three series and see what happens.”