Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
TEX	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
TB	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—	3	3	0

Casey Legumina got the ball for Tampa Bay off the back of a shaky last outing, just 2.0 innings against Toronto with a walk and a run allowed. MacKenzie Gore came in for Texas hoping to snap out of a brutal July, and the early returns weren't kind. The Rays put up 3 runs in the first inning and never needed another, riding that cushion the rest of the way in the 6:40 PM ET series game.

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FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Rangers(55-52)

WWLWW

0

+1.5-150+144o7.5+106

Rays(62-44)

LWWWL

3

-1.5+153-144u7.5-104

Best BetRays -142

Postgame

Rays cashed the moneyline pick outright, with Gore's first-inning implosion validating the bull case.

Pregame

The Rays came in as the deeper, better-record team, and that price at -143 reflected a real gap even with Texas playing well lately. Gore's ugly July gave Tampa Bay an edge most nights wouldn't offer against a Rangers staff missing multiple arms already. Backing the home side here was about trusting the roster gap over the recent Rangers win streak.

Texas is already piecing together a lineup without Corey Seager, Josh Jung, Danny Jansen and Kyle Higashioka, so any hiccup at the top of the order gets magnified fast. Tampa Bay isn't at full strength either — Jake Fraley and Gavin Lux are both still working back from setbacks on rehab assignments, and the Rays just placed Cole Sulser on the IL with back spasms hours before first pitch. Neither club is playing with its ideal roster right now.

MacKenzie Gore

(6-9)·4.43 ERA

Jul 24 vs Mariners

ND

5.0IP

3ER

5K

2BB

96P

07/29 Lineup

Casey Legumina

(2-2)·4.09 ERA

Jul 23 @ Blue Jays

ND

2.0IP

1ER

2K

2BB

40P

07/29 Lineup

Still, the Rays have been finding ways to win low-scoring games all month, and that formula held up again. The gap between these two teams in the standings is real, and nights like this are exactly how Tampa Bay keeps padding it.

Texas Rangers

(55-52)

Jul 28W@ Rays4-1

Jul 27Wvs Mariners7-3

Jul 26Lvs Mariners4-6

Jul 25Wvs Mariners7-1

Jul 25Wvs Mariners5-4

Tampa Bay Rays

(62-44)

Jul 28Lvs Rangers1-4

Jul 26Wvs Guardians1-0

Jul 25Wvs Guardians3-0

Jul 24Wvs Guardians11-3

Jul 23L@ Blue Jays1-3

Texas Rangers

(14)

• 10-Day-ILCorey Seager (SS) — Seager (back) started at shortstop and went 1-for-2 with a walk and a solo home run for Double-A Frisco on Tuesday.07/29
• 10-Day-ILJosh Jung (3B) — The Rangers placed Jung on the 10-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to Wednesday, due to a left calf strain.07/25
• 10-Day-ILKyle Higashioka (C) — Higashioka is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the White Sox.07/21
• 10-Day-ILCody Freeman (3B) — Freeman (neck) will begin a rehab assignment in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League on Monday.07/20
• 10-Day-ILDanny Jansen (C) — Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said Saturday that Jansen (forearm) is dealing with setbacks that put his return in doubt, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.07/20
• 15-Day-ILJack Leiter (SP) — Leiter (ankle) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session with more intensity Saturday, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.07/24
• 15-Day-ILChris Martin (RP) — The Rangers sent Martin (shoulder) to Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday to begin a rehab assignment.07/22
• 15-Day-ILJose Corniell (RP) — The Rangers recalled Corniell from Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday.07/21
• 60-Day-ILJordan Montgomery (SP) — Montgomery (elbow) allowed one run on five hits and two walks while striking out three over 4.1 innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday.07/26
• 60-Day-ILCody Bradford (SP) — Bradford (elbow) struck out four and allowed three hits and no walks across three innings in a rehab start Friday with Double-A Frisco.07/25
• 60-Day-ILJalen Beeks (RP) — The Rangers transferred Beeks (forearm) to the 60-day injured list Tuesday.07/21
• 60-Day-ILMichael Helman (CF) — Texas transferred Helman (hand) to the 60-day injured list Friday.06/19
• 60-Day-ILRobert Garcia (RP) — The Rangers transferred Garcia (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.06/01
• 60-Day-ILCarter Baumler (RP) — Baumler (intercostal) has been shut down from his rehab assignment, MLB.com reports.05/23

Tampa Bay Rays

(8)

• 10-Day-ILJake Fraley (RF) — Fraley (groin) was pulled off his rehab assignment Sunday at Triple-A Durham after feeling something in the area of his hernia surgery, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.07/12
• 15-Day-ILCole Sulser (RP) — The Rays placed Sulser on the 15-day injured list Wednesday due to lower back spasms.07/29
• 60-Day-ILManuel Rodriguez (RP) — Rodriguez (elbow) began a rehab assignment in the rookie-level Florida Complex League on Thursday, giving up a solo home run and striking out three in one inning.07/24
• 60-Day-ILGavin Lux (LF) — Lux (shoulder) was pulled off his rehab assignment earlier this week, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.07/17
• 60-Day-ILSteven Wilson (RP) — Wilson (back) has been sent to the rookie-level Florida Complex League to begin a rehab assignment.07/10
• 60-Day-ILEdwin Uceta (RP) — Rays manager Kevin Cash said Monday that Uceta has yet to resume throwing and will meet with a doctor to have his nagging right shoulder injury examined, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.07/06
• 60-Day-ILJonathan Heasley (RP) — Heasley was returned to the major-league roster and placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a right elbow stress reaction.06/08
• 60-Day-ILRyan Pepiot (SP) — Pepiot will undergo surgery on his right hip May 13 and miss the rest of the 2026 season, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.05/08

That first inning was really the whole ballgame. Gore couldn't survive it clean, and once the Rays banked those 3 runs, the Texas offense never found an answer — 0 runs on 4 hits is about as quiet as a lineup gets, even a shorthanded one. Legumina and the bullpen behind him did the rest, mixing arms to keep Texas off the board the entire way.

It's a sharp turnaround from the night before, when these same two teams played a 4-1 game that went the other way. That's the nature of a short series — form flips fast, and Wednesday belonged entirely to Tampa Bay's pitching staff.