At 61-61, the Rangers have forty games left. Any hope that they could make the playoff went sailing over the right field wall in the top of the ninth yesterday, turning a 4-3 Rangers lead into a 6-4 Rangers loss.

While they are not officially eliminated from playoff contention, yesterday’s gut punch of a loss emotionally eliminated the Rangers. 

They are done.

If only they would have acquired a closer in the offseason, things could have been so different. Yet, they didn’t, and it’s been a problem They struggled with closing games through April, May, June, and July. Surprisingly, the trade deadline came and went without the Rangers getting a closer. They picked up two setup men.

One of those two was the losing pitcher in Tuesday’s game. The other was the losing pitcher yesterday. Baseball works in mysterious ways. It always finds your weaknesses.

Apparently, the Rangers didn’t have the prospects or money to acquire any of the closers that were moved at the trade deadline. That’s a shame. And it’s also a peek into this offseason. It’s not like they will have different, more valued prospects. And it’s not like they will have a lot of money to spend without going over the luxury tax threshold.

Texas goes on the road tomorrow, where they have one of the worst records in baseball. But it doesn’t matter. The closer-less Rangers closed out their playoff hopes yesterday. 

*****