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 clich¨¦, 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.¡±