Texas Rangers fans just witnessed something that almost never happens in a 162-game Major League Baseball season. The team was given a rare midweek day off right in the middle of a series, and the Rangers organization had no hand in the shocking schedule change.
Globe Life Field and AT&T Stadium sit so close to one another in Arlington’s entertainment district that they share the same parking lots and roads. Because of this shared footprint, major events can quickly turn local roads into a traffic nightmare.
To avoid massive gridlock when England faced Croatia at AT&T Stadium on Wednesday afternoon for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Major League Baseball adjusted the schedule months ago.
Instead of forcing over 80,000 international soccer fans and baseball fans to compete for the same roads, the Rangers and Minnesota Twins skipped their usual Wednesday matchup. They shifted the finale of their three-game series to Thursday afternoon instead.
The Rangers have another unusual off-day on Friday, July 3, due to a World Cup knockout match. This breaks up a weekend home series against the Detroit Tigers. Most other tournament dates happen while the Rangers are away or on vacation, making this a very rare scheduling conflict.
The timing isn’t doing Texas any favors on the field. Texas lost the first two games of the current series, including a 12-2 blowout on Tuesday. They dropped their record to 35-38 before Thursday’s final game.
June has been a difficult month. The only thing keeping their season alive is a weak AL West division. The standings are close enough that the Rangers can still reach the playoffs if their pitching and hitting improve before the trade deadline, but the chances are below 50%.