Rangers finish home slate with 3-1 win over Mets to keep Texas tied for AL West lead

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Josh Jung and Corey Seager homered, Kumar Rocker pitched five solid innings and Texas closed out its home schedule with a 3-1 win over the New York Mets on Thursday that kept the Rangers tied for the AL West lead heading into the regular season's final weekend.

Texas stopped a three-game losing streak, and Houston won 7-5 later Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series at the Athletics. Both teams are 79-80 with three games left, with the Astros holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Texas, which finishes the regular season in Minnesota, went ahead to stay on Jung's two-run homer in the first inning off rookie left-hander Zac Thornton (5-6). Seager snapped an 0-for-15 skid when he led off the sixth with his 19th homer.

Rocker (6-11) struck out four while allowing one run and three hits. Jordan Montgomery, the fourth Rangers reliever, worked a perfect ninth for his second big league save. He's made 161 starts and 17 relief appearances over nine big league seasons.

Francisco Lindor led off the game with a double and scored on Carson Benge's two-out single to put New York up 1-0. Benge has 160 hits, a Mets rookie record.

Thornton struck out four and walked one in five innings. He allowed four hits and the only runs he surrendered were on Jung's 12th homer. Seager went deep off Jefry Yan, another rookie.

Jung, who finished with three hits and a walk, is hitting .341 (15 for 44) in 11 games since coming off the injured list Sept. 12. He missed 47 games because of a left calf strain.

New York (73-86) goes to Washington (75-84) to open a three-game series Friday matching the teams at the bottom of the NL East standings.

Two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom (11-10) is set to start for Texas on Friday against the Twins, who never trailed while sweeping three games in Texas in mid-June.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Texas Rangers' Corey Seager runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the New York Mets during the sixth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Kumar Rocker throws to the New York Mets during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

New York Mets' Francisco Lindor, left, is greeted near home plate by Marcus Semien after scoring on a single by teammate Carson Benge, not visible, during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Texas Rangers' Josh Jung swings at a pitch before hitting a two-run home run against the New York Mets during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Texas Rangers' Josh Jung reacts in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run against the New York Mets during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kayla McBride scored 22 points on 6-for-10 shooting from 3-point range as the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx closed the regular season by cruising to an 86-66 victory Thursday night that pushed the Indiana Fever into sixth place entering the WNBA playoffs.

Natasha Howard had 21 points and Courtney Williams added nine points, seven rebounds and 10 assists for the Lynx, who played without star point guard Olivia Miles for a second straight game due to a left calf injury. The Lynx snapped back from a blowout loss to the Fever on the road two days ago.

Kelsey Mitchell had a team-leading 10 points and Caitlin Clark scored a season-low two points on 1-for-12 shooting as the Fever fell behind 25-4 late in the first quarter and never recovered.

Minnesota (33-11), which had already secured the No. 1 seed for the second consecutive year, will face New York in a best-of-three first-round matchup starting Sunday. The Liberty beat the Lynx in five games in the WNBA Finals in 2024.

Indiana (28-16) lost the season series tiebreaker in defeat at home to Washington four days ago, and the Mystics passed the Fever for fifth by beating Chicago earlier Thursday. Indiana had to wait until the last possible hour of the regular season to find out its first-round opponent will be defending champion Las Vegas (31-13) after Golden State (32-12) rallied to beat Los Angeles to secure the No. 2 seed.

After beating the Lynx 96-77 in Indianapolis, the Fever squandered that momentum with a lifeless performance including a season low in points and field goal percentage.

The Fever lost backup guard Ty Harris to a left ankle injury in the third quarter after she landed awkwardly after a drive to the basket. Harris grabbed her leg and was down on the floor for several minutes before being carried off the court to the locker room.

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Indiana Fever center-forward Aliyah Boston (7) argues with a referee (11) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Minnesota Lynx, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride (21) reacts after scoring while Indiana Fever forward Myisha Hines-Allen (2) looks on during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) passes the ballaround Minnesota Lynx forward Natasha Howard, right, during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)