Game result and context
Red Sox 4-3 Rangers: Trevor Story's eighth-inning homer keeps Boston in a wild-card spot
Trevor Story's homer in the top of the eighth drove in 3 runs and lifted the Boston Red Sox past the Texas Rangers 4-3. Boston improved to 83-70 and holds the second wild-card position. Texas fell to 76-77, 2.0 games out of a wild-card spot and 1.0 game back in its division.
Final result
The Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 4-3 in nine innings on September 17, 2026, at Globe Life Field. The crowd was 30,828.
Boston moved to 83-70 with the win. Texas dropped to 76-77.
How the game changed
For six innings, this belonged to Texas. Josh Jung homered in the bottom of the first for a 1-0 lead, and the Rangers added 2 more runs in the second to go up by three.
Boston chipped away with a run in the seventh. Then came the swing that decided it. Trevor Story homered in the top of the eighth, driving in 3 runs and turning a one-run deficit into a one-run lead.
The Rangers did not score after the second inning, and the Red Sox held on through the ninth.
Key performances
Story finished with two hits in four at-bats, scored a run and drove in all 3 of Boston's eighth-inning runs.
Sonny Gray kept the Red Sox within reach. He worked 6.1 innings, struck out 6 and allowed 3 earned runs, none after the early damage.
For Texas, Cody Bradford threw 4.1 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts. Danny Jansen had two hits in three at-bats with an RBI, Jung had a hit, a run and an RBI on his homer, and Evan Carter drove in a run despite going hitless in two at-bats.
Each team hit one home run.
Season and playoff context
The Red Sox are third in their division, 10.5 games back, and have been eliminated from the division race. Their wild-card position is sturdier: they rank second and sit 5.0 games clear of the cutoff.
The Rangers are second in their division, 1.0 game back, and fourth in the wild-card standings, 2.0 games out. Their elimination number is 8 in both the division and the wild-card race, which made a late lead slipping away at home a costly one.
Series context
This regular-season game was the third and final game of the series between the clubs.