ARLINGTON -- This was the version of Jack Leiter that the Rangers have been waiting for.
The Texas rookie, in his first taste of the Silver Boot Series, did his best to put the team on his back to try to secure a series win over the Astros. But despite Leiter’s best efforts, the Rangers fell, 4-3, to Houston and settled for a series split to close out the homestand at Globe Life Field.
“Hard-fought series,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “We played well today. Jack did a great job. I think everything was working. He had a good mix going. He threw a lot of strikes and pitched very efficiently, all those things. He did a terrific job. Really, really was on top of his game. You hate to see that get away with the job that he did.”
Leiter carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before surrendering a two-out solo homer to Yainer Diaz. The Rangers still have not pitched a no-hitter since Kenny Rogers’ perfect game on July 28, 1994, against the Angels.
“It was special stuff,” catcher Jonah Heim said. “He left one pitch up, and that's the end of the history in the making there. He threw the ball really well. Got unlucky with some missed calls at the end there, but that's the game. Sometimes it goes our way, sometimes it doesn’t.”
Leiter completed the seventh inning for the first time in his young MLB career and pitched into the eighth for the first time in his professional career, including the Minors.
“I think every game is its own learning experience, and that's all I'm trying to do is soak it in as much as possible and learn as much as I can,” Leiter said. “Obviously there's a lot of positive takeaways to build off of this one. It’s unfortunate we don't get the win on a getaway day to win the series. But we keep pushing forward. I think we got a lot of good things going for us right now.”
Unfortunately, Leiter’s electric outing came to a bitter end after he allowed a pair of singles to open the eighth inning, when he didn’t record an out before Bochy went to get him.
The Astros delivered the final blow following a series of unfortunate events after Leiter yielded the two soft singles from Jake Meyers (86.4 mph exit velocity) and Cam Smith (71.3 mph exit velocity) to begin the top of the eighth. Leiter gave way to Chris Martin, who threw just one pitch before leaving with right shoulder discomfort. Both runners came in to score on an Isaac Paredes two-out three-run homer off Robert Garcia later in the inning. It was the first home run Garcia allowed this season.
“Balls found holes that inning,” Leiter said of the eighth. “We stayed on the attack, and that's what we had been doing all day. All day, they weren't finding holes. To start the eighth, I still made good pitches, and two of them found holes. It's kind of unfortunate, obviously. You leave the game with two runners on and no outs. You gotta hold yourself accountable for those. That's a really tough ask of the bullpen.”
Heim said it was probably the best outing he’s seen from Leiter since he was called up in 2024.
“I think he had full control of all [his] stuff, and I think he handled his emotions really well,” Heim said. “He was just out there competing, not thinking too much and trusting his stuff. When he does that, he's pretty special.”