Mahle's strong debut spoiled as Rangers barely avoid no-hitter

ARLINGTON -- It should have been a good day for Tyler Mahle and the Rangers.

Mahle underwent Tommy John surgery when he was with the Twins in May 2023, and the Rangers signed him to a two-year, $22 million deal this offseason. The injury ruined a promising '23 season with Minnesota, as Mahle posted a 3.16 ERA over five starts.

On Tuesday, he was finally set to make his Rangers debut after months and months of rehabbing.

His team was coming off a dramatic win over the Astros the previous night, when utility man Josh Smith launched a walk-off homer in the 10th inning. Texas was looking to ride that high into a potential series victory.

The vibes were looking good all around Globe Life Field until they weren’t.

Mahle, for his part, had a great day in a vacuum.

In his first piece of big league action since April 27, 2023, the right-hander tossed five innings of one-run ball, putting the Rangers in a perfect position to win a series against their in-state division rival. Instead, Mahle wasn’t even close to being the most important pitcher of the night, as Houston’s Framber Valdez came within one out of the second no-hitter of his career while the Rangers fell, 4-2.

Corey Seager broke up the no-hitter with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning with a two-run homer on Valdez’s 107th pitch of the game. The Rangers got the tying run to the plate against Houston closer Josh Hader, but a hard-hit fly ball from Josh Jung died at the warning track.

Seager has now broken up a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth twice in his career, the only player on record to do so multiple times.

“We were back in it,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said of what went through his mind as Seager’s homer flew into the stands. “We had a good hitter up there [Jung] and got a good swing off, hit it right to the wall. That's what you want to see, is fight at the end. And they were doing that.”

Seager’s homer would ultimately be Texas’ only hit of the night, as Valdez faced just one over the minimum across the first eight innings.

The first baserunner Valdez allowed was Jonah Heim, who reached via a throwing error by third baseman Alex Bregman in the sixth inning. It was immediately erased by a double-play ball. Marcus Semien then drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the seventh, but was stranded at first base.

“You still battle,” Seager said of the game. “The game's not over. Is it nice to not get no-hit? Yes, but we're still losing. We were still trying to scrape some runs and figure it out [at the end]. He was just good all night. He didn't throw anything over the heart of the plate. You tip your cap to a guy that can go out and locate every pitch that well all game. It’s tough to hit.”

Though Valdez was on top of his game, Mahle basically got what the Rangers' entire rotation has seen all season long: an inconsistent offense with a lack of run support for its starting pitchers. But the right-hander barely skipped a beat as he took Texas as far as possible, ultimately suffering his first loss of the year.

“I felt great,” Mahle said. “It felt like I never left. I was really happy to be able to go out and compete with these guys. I trust the process. It's cliché, but we're here. I was happy it went the way it did for me, especially to get the first one out of the way. Obviously we took a tough loss, but getting the first one out of the way, it was huge.”