In all of Major League Baseball, there has been no better pitcher in his home ballpark than Tyler Mahle.

Saying “you know what you’re going to get” when Mahle takes the ball in Arlington isn’t an understatement.

Entering play tonight, Mahle was 4-1 with an MLB-best 0.95 ERA at Globe Life Field through seven starts this season.

On Wednesday night, the Rangers got the version of Mahle that he’s been all season as he fired 6 shutout innings.

However, it didn’t matter…

After Josh Smith connected on an opposite-field single as the Rangers very first batter of the game, Texas did not record another hit.

In fact, they would record just four more base runners in a 2-0 shutout loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

“We just got shut down, we hit a hit to lead off the game and we got no hit basically after that,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said.

Much like last night, the Rangers bullpen stepped up and kept them in it. Luke Jackson, Hoby Milner, and Robert Garcia pitched scoreless outings to bridge the game to the 9th inning.

With two outs in the 9th, Jacob Webb allowed a pinch-hit game-winning two-run home run to Bo Bichette.

Unfortunately, that would be all the Blue Jays needed and some against a Rangers offense that continues to struggle.

Looking forward, the Rangers will have just their third off day at home this season, one that couldn’t come at a better time.

“They just need to get away,” Bochy said. “It’s been a little bit of a tough grind here lately, and so hopefully they freshen up, clear their heads, and come back and be the offense we keep saying they’re going to be”.

Still, despite the struggles, the Rangers haven’t lost belief, and the hope that the sun will come out still rings true every day.

“They’re [the offense] gonna turn it around, I think all of us know that,” Mahle said after his strong start.
“I know we keep saying that, but it’s gonna happen, those guys are way too good, so I think we’re all confident and just waiting for it to happen, and when it does, we’re gonna be really good”.

Mahle’s comments are a sentiment echoed by Bochy as Texas waits for the day that things finally start to click.

“I’m not gonna stop believing,” Bochy said. “We have a lot of baseball left, that’s the worst thing you can do. I think that’s important for them, This is the tough part of the game you have to deal with when you go through something like this. We’re men and we gotta handle it the right way”.