MacKenzie Gore strikes out nine in no-decision

Gore pitched better against the Giants and Angels in his previous two starts, but this one earned him his first win of August. He’s now 7-9 with a 4.45 ERA overall, and he should be a nice play with a home start versus the Halos next week.

Gore draws the starting assignment for Monday’s series opener against the Angels after spending a couple days away from the club on paternity leave. The 27-year-old tossed six scoreless frames against the Giants his last time out and boasts a serviceable 4.55 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 140/47 K/BB ratio across 128 2/3 innings over 24 starts in his Rangers debut.

Congrats to MacKenzie and his growing family. He pitched six innings on Tuesday night, so this won’t impact his turn in the rotation.

Gore was brilliant at home against the Giants on Tuesday, holding them scoreless over six innings of work. He scattered three hits and walked three batters while collecting four strikeouts. The bullpen would surrender a two-run lead, leaving Gore with a no-decision despite the six shutout frames. The 27-year-old left-hander will take a 4.55 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and a 140/47 K/BB ratio across 128 2/3 innings into a start against the Angels in Anaheim on Monday.

MLB Network’s Jon Morosi hears the same. Eovaldi has no-trade protection, which can be a big hurdle with deadline deals. If the Rangers sell, they’d be doing so while still possessing a 37 percent chance of reaching the playoffs, according to Fangraphs’ odds. They’re in a virtual tie with the Mariners, 2 1/2 games back of the Astros in the AL West.

Gore authored one of the more unique pitching performances of the season as he appeared to be on the verge of a complete meltdown before somehow locking in and dominating into the late innings. He ran into an absolute buzzsaw in the opening frame as Yandy Díaz went deep on the first pitch of the ballgame and he also served up a two-run shot to lefty-masher Ryan Vilade with two outs in the frame. He deserves a ton of credit for settling in afterwards and holding the Rangers without a baserunner over his final six innings of work. He got zero run support from his teammates and was still saddled with a tough-luck loss. He’s in line for a favorable matchup against the Giants on Monday to kick off a two-start week.

After getting through the first inning without any trouble, Gore would allow four batters to reach base in the second inning, with one of them coming around to score on an RBI single by Weston Wilson. Gore would give up a two-RBI double to Dominic Canzone in the fifth inning which tied the game at 3-3, but would get out of the frame before being pulled in favor of Peyton Gray to start the sixth. Gore has had up-and-down outings as of late, and his sitting on a 7.66 ERA and 1.50 WHIP on the month. Gore’s next start is scheduled for Wednesday on the road against the Rays.

Gore gave up six hits, walked one and struck out seven. He improved to 6-8 with the win. Gore allowed four runs in the second inning and another run in the third inning, but managed to settle in and pitch into the sixth inning. He pitched long enough to get the win. Gore has a 4.80 ERA, though his 3.93 xFIP points to better starts in the future. He’s lined up to face the Mariners at home next weekend.

Gore volunteered to start Sunday’s game on short rest, and it went as well — if not better — than could be expected. He blanked the Astros over the first three innings, with the only blemish a solo shot from Jose Altuve in the fourth. He gave up just one more hit along with a walk while striking out four. It’s not a great fantasy outing, but one that the Rangers should be pretty thankful for. Gore will be back on the bump after the All-Star break.

Even if Gore volunteered for the assignment, this seems like a pretty awful idea. The left-hander has given up 12 runs over 10 innings in his last two starts. He’ll be filling in for Jacob deGrom, who is out with a glute strain.