Rangers reach .500 again and tie for AL West lead with 7-3 victory over Red Sox

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Brandon Nimmo hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning before Ezequiel Duran added a two-run single, and the surging Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3 on Wednesday night to pull even with Houston atop the AL West.

Nathan Eovaldi (11-9) allowed one hit over four scoreless innings in relief and finished the game retiring his last 11 batters. He earned the win in his second appearance since missing a month on the injured list because of elbow inflammation.

The Rangers (76-76) have won four in a row to reach .500 for the first time since they were 66-66 on Aug. 24. With 10 games left, they moved into a first-place tie in the division race when the Astros lost 5-2 to Kansas City at home, though Houston owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Boston (82-70) has lost five of seven but holds the second American League wild card by five games over the Chicago White Sox.

Erik Miller (4-1), the third of four Red Sox pitchers, worked the seventh when the Rangers scored three times.

Boston went ahead 3-2 in the fifth after reliever Jakob Junis dropped the ball while on the rubber, resulting in a balk that sent a runner home from third base.

That was soon after left-hander MacKenzie Gore left his 32nd start of the season, tied for most in the majors. He allowed only two hits, but walked three without a strikeout.

Willson Contreras hit his 27th homer in the first inning, a two-run shot that put the Red Sox up 2-0.

Justin Foscue doubled on the first pitch thrown by Red Sox rookie starter Jake Bennett and scored on a ground-rule double by Jake Burger. Texas tied it at 2 on Foscue's RBI single in the fourth, and Wyatt Langford had an RBI single in the fifth.

Red Sox RHP Sonny Gray (17-5, 2.76 ERA) goes for his MLB-leading 18th victory in the series finale Thursday. LHP Cody Bradford (0-5, 4.72) starts for the Rangers.

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Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi throws to the Boston Red Sox in the ninth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (17) and catcher Danny Jansen, right, celebrate the team's win in a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Texas Rangers' Danny Jansen follows through on an infield single in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Boston Red Sox's Caleb Durbin advances to third on a single by Trevor Story in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Boston Red Sox's Willson Contreras (40) and Wilyer Abreu, right, celebrate Contreras two-run home run in the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Texas Rangers' Josh Jung follows through on a single in the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Texas Rangers' Jake Burger celebrates his ground-rule double that scored Justin Foscue in the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

CHICAGO (AP) — As Pete Crow-Armstrong came up with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, the Wrigley Field crowd chanted “M-V-Pete! M-V-Pete!" — and not for the first time Wednesday night.

The fans serenaded the Chicago star after his first home run, his 43rd to break Billy Williams' Cubs record for left-handed hitters. They made their feelings known after his RBI triple and after his 44th home run.

Even when Crow-Armstrong struck out on five pitches in the eighth, he still received a standing ovation on his way back to the dugout at the end of a 3 for 4 night with three RBIs and three runs in an 8-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves, his seventh multi-home-run game of the season.

With Shohei Ohtani still on the injured list with right biceps inflammation, Crow-Armstrong keeps hitting home runs, closing in on the first 40-40 season in Cubs history, putting the finishing touches on his MVP case, at least as far as Cubs fans are concerned.

“You’re shaking your head in amazement, sometimes,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “In amazement. You know, you don’t get to see this. That’s what I told Alex (Bregman): ‘We don’t get to see things like this.’ You spend your whole life in baseball and you just don’t see this happen on a baseball field.

"You’re grateful to be a part of it. You’re grateful to see things like this. And then you’re grateful the fans get to see a season like this. They’re going to talk about it. They’re going to tell their kids about it. They’re going to tell their grandkids about a season like this.”

Yet as he’s gone from breakthrough player to MVP candidate to MVP favorite, Crow-Armstrong has been unfazed by the pressure, his performance unwavering as the Cubs chase a wild-card spot.

“I keep it pretty simple,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I enjoy just kind of laying low, as I always do and always will. I’ve got a really nice support system.”

Only one home run behind Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead, Crow-Armstrong is hitting. 283 with 105 RBIs, 29 doubles and 37 stolen bases to go with Gold Glove-caliber defense in center field.

Crow-Armstrong's breakthrough season at age 24 has him at or near the top of every offensive metric in the NL while also tapping out the vocabulary of Wednesday's winning starter, Shota Imanaga.

“We can always say he's great, or he's excellent, but really there's no words to describe him," Imanaga said through an interpreter. "So I'll think of a new word in English for that.”

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong watches the ball during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong watches his home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong celebrates his home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong, left, celebrates his home run with teammate Michael Busch, right, during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)