Formers and presents.
Three games still mattered as far as Texas was concerned: its series finale against the Brewers and road games involving the two clubs it was battling for home field throughout the post-season. Cleveland was in Detroit, and Boston was in New York.
The Indians, 1.5 games behind Texas, jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, aided by Detroit starter Michael Fulmer’s throwing error.
The Red Sox, half a game back and even with the Rangers in the loss column, broke a scoreless tie in the eighth by plating three runs, aided by a Starlin Castro fielding error.
The Rangers found themselves down 5-3 after three innings, with two of Milwaukee’s runs unearned and Texas playing uncharacteristically sloppy defense.
The baseball night wasn’t looking great.
But then a former Ranger turned the Cleveland-Detroit game around for the Tigers with a two-run homer in the third inning of a rainy game that would last just five.
And another former Ranger stunned Boston in the bottom of the ninth with a walkoff grand slam.
Minutes after that, with a former Ranger called on to hold what was then a 5-4 Brewers lead, Texas scored four runs in the frame — one driven in by the key player acquired for that ex-Ranger Yankee and the other three courtesy of a former Brewer — and then another former Brewer closed out his own relief win.
Cleveland lost, and Ian Kinsler’s early bomb was a big reason why.
Boston lost, on Mark Teixeira’s majestic shot.
Texas won, as Elvis Andrus tied the game after Corey Knebel was lifted for current Brewers closer Tyler Thornburg (who was holding opponents to a .144/.233/.266 slash line, including .059/.188/.103 in the eight weeks since he assumed Jeremy Jeffress’s closer duties), immediately after which Carlos Gomez (now hitting .291/.371/.564 as a Ranger, after going .210/.272/.322 with Houston) destroyed a Thornburg changeup up and in to give the Rangers an 8-5 lead.
It was the first homer Thornburg had surrendered in more than three months.
Jeffress, who’d pitched a scoreless eighth that included a ground ball double play, pitched a scoreless ninth that included a ground ball double play.
Another two scoreless frames for the bullpen.
Another bullpen win.
Another comeback win.
Another step toward full home field, in an extraordinary season that seems to give us more reason all the time to believe there could be something really special developing, helped along more than occasionally by players other teams didn’t want, and by former players who have done their own part to further their old team’s cause.