ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Those bullpen games have been quite a relief for the Texas Rangers.
With Nathan Eovaldi still on the injured list with right elbow inflammation and Tyler Mahle now dealing with shoulder stiffness, the Rangers twice in the past week have gone with bullpen games — using only relievers for the first two times this season, and winning both.
The first pitcher in each of those victories hasn't allowed a hit through the first three innings, with Shawn Armstrong perfect in his three innings to open the 3-1 win over the White Sox on Friday night. Jacob Webb (4-3) has been the second pitcher both times, and he got wins with scoreless outings since the starter didn't go the required five innings to get credited with a victory. Robert Garcia finished off both for saves, and he was the seventh pitcher used against Chicago.
“Our bullpen ... it's just next man-up kind of mentality down there. And it’s going well,” Webb said Saturday before two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom's start on an extra day of rest. “It's just perseverance and knowing what we have to do down there. ... We’re playing some good baseball right now and that’s what matters.”
While deGrom's regular turn in the rotation would have been Friday, the Rangers moved him back to avoid the possibility of back-to-back bullpen games this weekend. Mahle's normal slot would be Sunday, but with the team off Monday that would give the right-hander two extra days, if he doesn't end up on the injured list before then.
Kumar Rocker (1-4, 8.87 ERA in six starts), who was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on June 5 and can't return yet to the major league roster unless it is to replace an injured player, was in the Rangers clubhouse on Saturday. When asked about Rocker's presence before the game, manager Bruce Bochy responded, “We may need a start.”
Bochy didn't have an answer on Sunday's starter when talking to reporters after the Rangers' 5-4 win in 11 innings, their sixth win in seven games. They used five relievers after deGrom pitched six innings.
Instead of another bullpen game as had been anticipated, the Rangers later announced that Rocker would start Sunday's series finale. They didn't say what roster move would be made before that game.
Jacob Latz started the first bullpen game at Washington last Sunday, when he didn't give up a hit until the fourth while striking out seven with 60 pitches over 3 1/3 innings. Webb then threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings, followed by Hoby Milner, Armstrong and Garcia in a 4-2 win.
Armstrong retired all nine batters he faced Friday with five strikeouts, including his last four White Sox batters. Webb then took over for two scoreless innings, before Luke Jackson, Milner, Chris Martin, Cole Winn and Garcia.
“Everybody’s willing to do whatever it takes for this team to win, so it’s a pretty special group to be part of. ... Nobody’s saying no to any role. When their name is called, they’re getting the ball and they’re getting the job done,” catcher Jonah Heim said. "The starters pick up the bullpen sometimes and the bullpen picks up starters. So that’s kind of the environment we want to be in, is everybody’s picking up everybody and trying to win games.”
Bullpen games aren’t something Bochy has done often. The Rangers were 1-6 when starting a reliever in each of the past two seasons, and now are 2-0 this year.
Bochy said his relievers have done a good job all season, even with guys being moved to different roles.
“They don't care how it gets done," Bochy said. “Just that it gets done and they're doing what they can to help win a ball game.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Shawn Armstrong throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy looks on from the dugout before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Texas Rangers pitcher Robert Garcia (62) celebrates after the final out with catcher Jonah Heim (28) in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Lamar Jackson thought it was over. That the Baltimore Ravens' unwieldy season would end up in a familiar spot: the playoffs.
Then, rookie kicker Tyler Loop's potential game-winning field goal from 44 yards out drifted a little right. And then a little further right. And then a little further right still.
By the time it fluttered well wide of the goalposts, the playoffs were gone. So was Jackson's certainty after a 26-24 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday night sent the Ravens into what could be a turbulent offseason.
“I'm definitely stunned, man,” Jackson said. “I thought we had it in the bag. ... I don't know what else we can do.”
Jackson, who never really seemed fully healthy during his eighth season as he battled one thing after another, did his part. The two-time NFL MVP passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns, including two long connections with Zay Flowers in the fourth quarter that put the Ravens (8-9) in front.
It just wasn't enough. Baltimore's defense, which played most of the second half without star safety Kyle Hamilton after Hamilton entered the concussion protocol, wilted against 42-year-old Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers passed for a season-high 294 yards, including a 26-yard flip to a wide-open Calvin Austin with 55 seconds to go after a defender slipped, symbolic of a season in which Baltimore's defense only occasionally found its form.
Still, the Ravens had a chance when Jackson found Isaiah Likely for a 28-yard gain on fourth down from midfield. A couple of snaps later, the 24-year-old Loop walked on to try to lift Baltimore to its third straight division title.
Instead, the rookie said he “mishit” it. Whatever it was, it never threatened to sneak between the goalposts.
“It’s disappointing,” Loop said.
Loop was talking about the game. He might as well have been talking about his team's season.
The Ravens began 1-5 as Jackson dealt with injuries and the defense struggled to get stops. Baltimore found a way to briefly tie the Steelers for first in late November, only to then split its next four games, including a home loss to Pittsburgh.
Still, when Jackson and the Ravens walked onto the Acrisure Stadium turf on Sunday night in the 272nd and final game of the NFL regular season, Baltimore was confident. The Ravens drilled Pittsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs a year ago behind the ever-churning legs of running back Derrick Henry.
When Henry ripped off a gain of 40-plus yards on the game's first offensive snap, it looked like it was going to be more of the same. While Henry did rush for 126 yards and joined Hall of Famer Barry Sanders as the only running backs in NFL history to have five 1,500-yard seasons, he was less effective in the second half.
Even that first run was telling of what night it was going to be, as an illegal block by wide receiver Zay Flowers cost Baltimore some field position. The Ravens ended up scoring on the drive anyway, thanks to a 38-yard fourth-down flip from Jackson to a wide-open Devontez Walker, but it started a pattern that was hard to shake as several steps forward were met with one step back on a night the Ravens finished with nine penalties for 78 yards.
“We were having a lot of penalties, which kept stopping drives," Jackson said. “But I'm proud of my guys because we kept overcoming. We kept overcoming adversity and situations like this. Divisional games (can) be like that sometimes.”
Particularly when the Steelers are on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Pittsburgh has won 10 of the last 13 meetings. And while a handful of them have been in late-season matchups with the Ravens already assured of reaching the playoffs, the reality is the Steelers have been able to regularly do something that most others have not: found a way to beat Jackson.
“It comes down to situations like this,” Jackson said. “Two-point conversion one year. Field goal another year. And again this year. Just got to find a way to get that win here.”
And figure out who is going to be around to help get it.
Head coach John Harbaugh's 18th season in Baltimore ended with the Ravens missing the playoffs for just the second time in eight years. Jackson turns 29 this week and is still one of the most electric players in the league.
Yet Harbaugh and Jackson have yet to find a way to have that breakthrough season that Harbaugh enjoyed with Joe Flacco in 2013 when the Ravens won the Super Bowl.
There was hope when the season began that the roadblocks that have long been in the franchise's way — Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes chief among them — would be gone.
While the Ravens did get their way in a sense — the Chiefs will watch the playoffs from afar for the first time in a decade after a nightmarish season of their own — it never all came together.
Jackson declined to endorse Harbaugh returning for a 19th season, saying the loss was still too fresh to zoom out on what it might mean for the franchise going forward.
Harbaugh, for his part, certainly seems up for running it back in the fall.
“I love these guys,” he said afterward. “I love these guys.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, right, hands the ball off to running back Derrick Henry (22) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh talks with an offical during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, left, greets Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) after an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jabrill Peppers (40) reacts after Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop (33) missed a field goal attempt in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
