The Texas Rangers are officially out of the American League’s third wild card spot after a brutal 6-0 loss to Washington on Wednesday night, a defeat driven by a dominant performance from Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli who racked up 11 strikeouts over six innings.
Cavalli’s Unstoppable Streak Is Wild
Dude, Cavalli was absolutely on fire. This was his second straight double-digit strikeout game, and he retired the final 11 batters he faced like it was nothing. He limited the Rangers to just three singles and a single walk, throwing 58 of his 84 pitches for strikes. This right-hander, now 11-5, has been clutch, going 7-1 in his last 10 starts. You gotta remember, this guy just threw 10 Ks while giving up only one hit over eight scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs last Thursday, not allowing a hit until the seventh! He is absolutely dealing right now.
Nationals’ Bats Explode, Rangers’ Struggles Continue
While Cavalli was cooking, the Nationals’ offense didn’t hold back either. José Tena put Washington ahead for good with a solo homer in the third inning. Then, Andrés Chaparro absolutely crushed a 415-foot three-run shot in the seventh, pushing the lead to 6-0. These guys are hitting bombs, holding an MLB-high 182 homers this season. This win snapped a tough streak for Washington, who had lost four in a row and six of their last seven games, with Cavalli’s gem against the Cubs being their only other win in that stretch. Washington locked down their fifth shutout thanks to Will Dion, Max Kranick, and Jake Bird each throwing an inning to close it out. On the Rangers’ side, their pitcher Kumar Rocker, now 4-10, struck out three but gave up two runs and six hits over five innings. He’s been in a rough patch, sitting at 0-2 with a 6.87 ERA in his last four games since ending July with back-to-back wins. The Rangers had their first eight outs come via strikeout, which tells you everything about Cavalli’s stuff early on.
Up next, the Rangers will try to bounce back in Thursday’s series finale, sending Jacob deGrom, with an 8-8 record and a 3.95 ERA, to the mound. He’s getting an extra day of rest after leaving his last start a week ago with triceps fatigue and is sitting on 1,998 career strikeouts. The Nationals will counter with lefty Andrew Alvarez, who is 2-4 with a 3.72 ERA. It’s gonna be a big one for Texas if they want to get back in the wild card hunt.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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