Hitting is Still Hard
The Rangers still employ one of the league's worst offenses, and it's caught up to them.
Last night’s 7-1 loss to the Athletics was demoralizing in just about every imaginable way.
The Rangers, who had exploded for a refreshing 15-2 win the night before — a much-needed break from their recent offensive struggles — came crashing back to earth Wednesday evening with an embarrassing display of situational hitting.
With this version of the Texas Rangers, the offense is always the first thing that comes up. And that’s unfortunate, because the pitching staff has more than done its part a month into the 2025 season. A merely competent offense — not even an elite one — would have this team sitting among the best records in baseball right now. I truly believe that.
But that’s not the reality. Last night, like so many nights before, told the same story. Texas stranded 11 runners and went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. The traffic was there, but the clutch hitting was not.
Let’s walk through the two worst examples of wasted opportunity from last night: the sixth and eighth innings — two frames that made me want to pull my hair out. Here’s how it unfolded:
6th Inning:
Marcus Semien single
Josh Jung single
Adolis García swinging strikeout (1 out)
Jonah Heim walk
Leody Taveras infield pop-up (2 out)
Wyatt Langford swinging strikeout (3 out)
8th Inning:
Marcus Semien walk
Josh Jung single
Adolis García lineout (1 out)
Jonah Heim fly out (2 out)
Leody Taveras swinging strikeout (3 out)
Just brutal. Absolutely deflating. One look at the players jogging off the field after each of those innings told the story — these missed chances are draining the life out of the team.
That’s also not to mention the missed opportunities by Jake Burger in particular last night, who stranded five baserunners on his own as he went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. Just not good enough from a guy the team traded for to provide pop.
There’s no obvious fix at the moment. Thankfully, the season is long. Remember, the 2023 squad came out of the gates on fire before cooling off late, only to catch fire again in October and deliver the franchise’s first World Series title.
So yeah, things can change. (I’ve said that so many times it’s bound to come true eventually, right?) Like Chris Young, I still have a gut feeling that this will turn around at some unforeseen point in the season. But if it doesn’t? Changes will have to come because the current trajectory simply isn’t sustainable.
What those changes look like, I’m not sure. Maybe someone like Blaine Crim gets a shot from Triple-A and injects a little spark. Maybe Evan Carter, once he’s fully right — and he’s getting close — helps flip the script. Who knows?
In my opinion, the best bet remains the guys already here. This is a veteran lineup. These are players who’ve been through the grind before. If anyone knows how to steady the ship, it’s them.
But they need to show us something — and soon.