The Texas Rangers needed a strong outing from MacKenzie Gore on Tuesday night, and boy, did they get one. Coming off a bullpen game, the Rangers weren't necessarily desperate for length from their starter—there were only two relievers unavailable—but they certainly wanted to avoid further taxing the bullpen. Gore delivered in a big way, tossing eight innings of one-run ball, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out five.

Gore's command has been a topic of discussion this season, but it was a non-issue against the Diamondbacks. He threw 63 of his 95 pitches for strikes, even if he wasn't generating many whiffs—just eight total swings and misses. Interestingly, he got zero whiffs on his 26 fastballs, a stat that stood out given the broadcast's focus on Arizona starter Zac Gallen's unusually low fastball whiff rate. Whether this was a deliberate strategy to pitch to contact and work deeper into the game or just good fortune, it worked. The D-Backs hit some balls hard—including Ildemaro Vargas's second-inning home run—but most found gloves.

What looked like a comfortable Rangers win turned tense in the ninth. Gavin Collyer took the mound on his 25th birthday, but it wasn't a celebration he'll cherish. He walked Corbin Carroll on five pitches to start the inning, and things unraveled from there. Still, the Rangers held on for a 7-4 victory, thanks to Gore's stellar performance and enough early run support to weather the late-inning drama.