SAN DIEGO -- Rangers manager Bruce Bochy has repeatedly said that when your opponent has their best on the mound, you want your ace to match up with them.

With the Rangers facing Yu Darvish on Saturday night, the club surely could have used one of their frontline starters to match up with one of San Diego’s many.

Texas starter Martín Pérez made a valiant effort, but gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings as the Rangers were shut out, 4-0, to drop the series at Petco Park. Texas’ lead in the American League West dwindled to just one game.

• Scherzer traded to Texas after Max approves deal (source)

It wasn’t a terrible outing for Pérez. But it was a tale everybody knows a little too well with the lefty over his two separate tenures with the Rangers: One blow-up inning that puts Texas in a role, sandwiched between more than a few scoreless ones that show there’s gas left in the tank for the 32-year-old.

“I liked where he was with his stuff,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He had really good stuff. The one inning seems like it's getting him -- they put up a crooked number. They got four of them. I really thought besides that, he threw the ball very well. But those runs count. They placed the ball well and then a couple of big hits, and that's something we were missing.

“It takes getting those hits with runners in scoring position, and we didn't get one.”

And fortunately for Bochy and the Rangers, an ace is on the way. The club has agreed to a deal with the Mets that would send right-hander Max Scherzer to Texas, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The superstar has had an up-and-down 2023, posting a 4.01 ERA with 121 strikeouts over 107 2/3 innings.

Bochy would not comment on the deal, as it’s not yet confirmed by either team, but Scherzer’s addition is much-needed atop the Rangers’ rotation, even if he’s not in his typical Cy Young form. Entering the day, Texas starters combined for a 3.86 ERA this year, good for fifth in MLB, but the group has struggled to a 4.56 ERA since June 1.

Even more reason for Texas to acquire Scherzer: Multiple potential aces are better than one.

Nathan Eovaldi has thrived as the ace in Jacob deGrom’s absence with a 2.69 ERA in 19 starts, but Texas skipped his last start because he has right elbow soreness and then pushed it back another few days. Dane Dunning (3.28 ERA) and Jon Gray (3.66) have been serviceable behind him, but both Andrew Heaney and Pérez have ERAs over 4.50 at the back end of the rotation.

Scherzer might not be the only addition Texas makes before Tuesday’s Trade Deadline.

“I think we need to improve as a starting rotation, that’s fair to say,” Bochy said pregame Saturday. “I like this rotation, but we need to get back to who we were early in the season, and that’s throwing quality strikes and cutting back on the walks and those things. And with all that, we’ve got to get healthy.

“I think every team goes through it. You have your good runs and you have your rough runs. That goes with the pitching and the hitting.”

And it’s worth noting that pitching additions don’t change the offensive struggles at the moment. In the two games against the Padres, Texas has been outscored 11-1 despite being one of the best offenses in the American League. But if you ask Bochy, that’s less of an indictment of his own club and more of an illustration of the strength of San Diego’s rotation. The Rangers have faced Darvish and Joe Musgrove, with Blake Snell on deck for Sunday’s finale.

“You have to give credit: That’s a good pitching staff over there,” Bochy said. “But as I said, you still have to find a way to push runs across. That's what really good pitching will do. I mean, he's throwing 95 mph with different breaking balls, changeup. You have your hands full. It's all about battling and finding a way, and we just couldn't do it today.”