The Texas Rangers continued their post-All-Star break surge on Sunday with an 8-1 win over the struggling Atlanta Braves, capping off a dominant three-game sweep in Arlington. Wyatt Langford gave the Rangers a quick jolt in the first inning with a clutch, bases-clearing double that brought in three runs. Josh Smith and Josh Jung chipped in with two RBIs each, giving the Rangers an early cushion that rookie pitcher Jack Leiter used to his full advantage.
Leiter turned in one of the best starts of his young career, allowing just one run on two hits and three walks over six innings. He also tied his season high with seven strikeouts and secured his third consecutive victory—his longest winning streak so far. The Rangers’ offense gave him more than enough support, collecting 10 hits on the day, including three from Smith alone.
Texas is on a roll, winning its sixth straight game and sweeping back-to-back series. The team has now won four straight series and improved to 8-1 since the All-Star break. With this latest victory, they’ve moved within just four games of the first-place Houston Astros in the AL West standings.
Meanwhile, the Braves are spiraling in the opposite direction. They’ve now dropped five games in a row and seven of their last nine, falling deeper into fourth place in the NL East. Sunday’s loss marked a new low, putting them 16 games below .500 their worst position all season. Atlanta’s offense never got going, managing only four hits against three Texas pitchers.
Braves starter Brad Elder had a particularly rough outing just a short drive from his hometown in Texas. He gave up eight runs on six hits, four walks, and a hit batter in less than three innings of work. The Rangers wasted no time pouncing on him, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first without even recording a hit before Langford’s big double.
Atlanta briefly showed life in the second inning when Sean Murphy’s bloop ground-rule double brought in a run. But Texas quickly answered back. In the bottom of the second, Josh Smith launched a two-run homer that stretched the lead to 5-1. Then in the third, the Rangers blew the game wide open by loading the bases and scoring three more runs two on a single from Jung and another on a base hit by Heim that ended Elder’s night early.
By the time Texas was done piling on, the game was well out of reach. For the Rangers, it was yet another complete performance on both sides of the ball, while for the Braves, it was another rough chapter in what’s become a frustrating second half of the season.