Athletics at Texas Rangers

Skip Schumaker walked out to the mound, presumably to make a pitching change with two outs in the fifth inning. Cole Winn began his jog from the bullpen, but as he was midway to the infield dirt, Schumaker about-faced to return to the dugout. It was a quick conversation between Schumaker and MacKenzie Gore on the mound, though the manager said Gore was talking at him as he made the walk to the mound. “I'm not exactly sure what I was saying,” Gore said. “I'm assuming it was something like ‘I got this guy.’ …Obviously, I was hoping he was going to give me a chance to stay in there. I had a decent argument.” The argument was good enough. The Rangers left-hander remained in the game, looking to finish off what had been a frustrating outing. Gore got the final out, a popout in foul territory and fist pumped as he walked off the mound. Schumaker said Gore had the exact conviction he’s looking for in his players. “Typically, when I know exactly what I'm doing, I call for the bullpen right away,” Schumaker recalled. “As soon as I got on the top step, \[Gore\