The slumping Texas Rangers agreed to acquire three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer during a 4-0 defeat to Yu Darvish and the San Diego Padres, their sixth loss in eight games that cut their lead in the AL West to one game over the Houston Astros. The blockbuster trade with the New York Mets came as Rangers ace Nathan Eovaldi had his next start pushed back again and manager Bruce Bochy spoke of the need for the rotation to improve. Then Martín Pérez gave up four runs in the second inning, when the 32-year-old left-hander allowed five straight baserunners and two runs before getting his first out.