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Three Swings, Seven Runs: Mets’ Power Leaves Rangers’ Singles Short

New York scored all seven runs on three home runs, while Texas managed four singles and two runs in a 7-2 loss at Globe Life Field.

Cody Ferris

September 24, 20264 min read

MLBFinal
New York Mets7
Texas Rangers2

September 24, 2026

Three home runs accounted for all seven of New York’s runs Wednesday night. Texas collected four hits, all singles, and scored twice. That arithmetic explains the Mets’ 7-2 victory at Globe Life Field better than any inflated description of an offensive showcase.

The frustrating part for Texas was not a complete absence of offense. Texas did produce a legitimate fifth-inning rally and briefly tied the game. The larger issue was concentration: the Mets needed only three successful swings to create their entire scoring line, while the Rangers’ singles never gathered into enough sustained damage.

That is a broad distinction in run production. A hit can start a rally, but a home run can finish one immediately—and sometimes finish the argument, too.

New York’s scoring came in three swings

Juan Soto’s third-inning homer supplied the first example. Francisco Lindor singled with two outs, and Soto followed with a two-run drive that gave New York a 2-0 lead. Soto reached base four times overall, going 1-for-2 with three walks, but his one hit carried the night’s first meaningful scoring burst.

The Mets were hardly relentless from there. Francisco Alvarez had two singles, while Lindor, A.J. Ewing and Nick Morabito added one apiece. New York left seven runners on base, and its non-home-run hits produced no runs. The point is not that the Mets created chances perfectly; they did not. Their advantage was that the chances they converted were unusually valuable.

The next scoring swing came late. Texas tied the game in the fifth, and it stayed 2-2 through seven innings. In the eighth, Mark Vientos struck out and Carson Benge flied out before Marcus Semien hit a two-out homer against Jacob Latz. The shot changed a tie game into a 3-2 Mets lead without requiring a long sequence of traffic.

That was the pattern in miniature. New York could go quiet for several batters, then turn one ball in play into an immediate lead.

Texas’s best rally stopped at a tie

The Rangers’ fifth inning showed both the usefulness and the limitation of their approach. Brandon Nimmo singled, Ezequiel Duran grounded out to move him to second, and Jake Burger singled him home. Nicky Lopez then singled, and Danny Jansen walked after an umpire’s-ball call was confirmed, loading the bases with one out.

Texas tied the game when Evan Carter grounded into a force play. Burger scored, Lopez moved to third, and Carter reached first, but Danny Jansen was retired at second. Wyatt Langford then popped out. After assembling three singles, a walk and a productive grounder, the Rangers had a tie rather than a lead.

That was not an empty inning. It was a real recovery from the early deficit. But it also became Texas’ last substantial scoring opportunity. The Rangers went hitless in the sixth, seventh and eighth. In the ninth, Josh Jung singled with one out, but Brandon Nimmo and Ezequiel Duran followed with force plays that ended the threat.

The four-hit total left little room for a different outcome once Semien’s homer put New York ahead. Corey Seager went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, and Wyatt Langford went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Those lines do not explain every out, but they underscore how difficult it was for Texas to string together enough productive plate appearances.

The singles were there in one inning; the repeat traffic was not.

Baty supplied the five-run cushion

The ninth-inning grand slam made the final score look more lopsided than the game had been for most of the night. But its construction matters. A.J. Ewing struck out to open the inning. Morabito then singled, Lindor grounded out while moving him to second, and Soto was intentionally walked. Bo Bichette followed with a walk, bringing the bases around for Brett Baty.

Baty had not recorded an at-bat before that plate appearance. He left it with his 11th home run, four RBI and a 7-2 Mets lead. The grand slam was not a random bolt from nowhere: New York had accumulated runners before it. Still, the difference between a crowded inning and four runs was one swing.

Nolan McLean’s work gave New York time to wait for those swings. He allowed two runs on three hits and one walk over seven innings, striking out five. The Mets did not need constant offensive pressure because Texas never built enough of its own to force the issue.

The final gap, then, was not simply 7-2. It was three Mets homers against four Rangers singles. Texas gathered some contact; New York gathered the kind that changes the scoreboard all at once.

Sources

Official game data

Official game box score

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Cody Ferris

Cody Ferris covers Van Alstyne Panthers athletics and area high school and college sports.

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