And just like that, three straight losses. And just like that, the Rangers season is effectively over. 

Three straight losses put the Rangers three-and-a-half games behind the Red Sox for the third and final wild card spot, but a game behind the Guardians in the quest.

In other words, with ten games left, a whole lot of teams are going to have to do a whole lot of losing and the Rangers are going to have to do a whole lot of winning.

They’re not eliminated. Just decimated.

Need his best start as a Rangers, Merrill Kelly had his worst. Three innings, six runs. The Rangers went down fighting, scoring four in the eight to pull within one a 6-5. The left runners on second and third in the eighth and first and second in the ninth.

After being down 6-0, they simply couldn’t make that miraculous comeback a playoff-bound team would have needed to make. Like they’ve shown all season, they just weren’t good enough.

Just like last night.

Poof.

*****