Sometimes, all you need is a little hope. When times get rough and everything seems like it’s about to collapse, a little ray of sunshine can make all the difference.
Sports, just like regular old life, are no different. When a team is struggling to the extent that the Texas Rangers are right now, all you can do as a fan is attempt to find anything to grasp onto that will elicit any sort of excitement. Any glimpse, however small, of hope is a positive.
This past weekend, hope is what the Rangers finally provided. For the first time in what feels like forever, they managed to win a series, taking two games against the hated St. Louis Cardinals.
The first, a fantastic 11-1 victory on Friday, shocked the senses of Rangers fans everywhere, and we were all left wondering if somehow we’d all been transported back to 2023. Offensively, the lineup was producing like the team that was promised in the offseason, while the pitching was as dominant as it had been all year.
Let’s start with the offense because that’s what’s been failing Texas all year long. The Rangers put up a whopping 15 hits against a slew of Cardinals pitchers, including four—one of which was a two-run home run—from the much-maligned Marcus Semien. It was the first time in probably over a year that Semien provided us with an answer to the criticisms he’s faced throughout the last season or so. Would the bat speed ever return? Where are all the barreled-up baseballs? Is age finally catching up to him? Those are still valid questions to consider when evaluating Semien, but on Friday night, it was all a moot point. He played fantastically that evening, and for at least the next several days, he’s off the hook.
But Semien wasn’t the only standout performer on Friday. Sam Haggerty, Josh Jung, and Kyle Higashioka all put up multi-hit games. Wyatt Langford hit a laser beam of a home run—it left the bat at 106.1 MPH and traveled 390 feet—in the bottom of the second to extend a lead that was already fairly large. Haggerty continued to play above expectations with three RBIs. The situational hitting from players like Jung with his RBI single in the first and Haggerty with his RBI single in the sixth made my heart smile.
Overall, it was a great night for the offense, which was also aided by a fantastic bounce-back effort from Jack Leiter. The rookie hurler from Vanderbilt has had an up-and-down campaign, which was evident for all to see over his last two starts. Last Saturday against the Chicago White Sox, Leiter was what I’d call “fine.” He certainly lacked command through his five innings of work as he walked five and only struck out three batters. Of his 94 pitches, only 52 landed for strikes.
Those are the kinds of games Leiter is prone to having at times. His command gets shaky, and long innings featuring a lot of pitches and tons of traffic on the bases plague his day. But in the case of that game in Chicago, Leiter somehow still found a way to limit the damage, allowing just two earned runs. Talk about a tightrope act.
Friday’s game back at home in Arlington versus the Cardinals was the best that Leiter has to offer: 5 2/3 innings of work with six strikeouts and two walks. Most importantly, no runs crossed the plate with Leiter on the mound. I’d call that a striking success (no pun intended).
With that great win under their belt, the Rangers went into Saturday’s game with high spirits and hopes. Unfortunately, old habits die hard, and Texas went back to doing that thing where they don't score any runs. The 2-0 loss on Saturday marked the eighth time that the Rangers had been shut out this season. That happened just 10 times throughout the entirety of 2024. No bueno.
Unlike previous instances where they were blanked, the Rangers proceeded to come out the next day with the bats on fire en route to an 8-1 drubbing of St. Louis.
I’ll summarize this one in just a couple of sentences. Actually, all you really need is just two words: Jacob deGrom.
When the Rangers signed deGrom to that massive five-year, $185 million contract back in the offseason preceding 2023, this is the version of the former two-time Cy Young winner that they thought they were getting. Six innings, one run, four strikeouts, three walks. Extraordinary stuff from an ace who’s now pitching like his old self.
He was helped by an offensive effort that was nothing short of fantastic. Josh Smith, who’d been struggling for the better part of a month now, recorded three hits and knocked in four runs to lead the charge. Jake Burger, Jonah Heim, Langford, and Haggerty drove in the other four runs to round out the day.
Two great days at the office for the offense in one weekend. Who would’ve thought that that was even possible?
Can they keep it up? That’s been the question that’s been posed several times throughout 2025 when the team has suddenly put up buckets of runs. In the past, the lineup has fizzled out. Perhaps that won’t be the case this time?
Who knows? If we’re to rely on history, then by the time I write the next Rangers Roundup, the team will be back in the dumps, and we’ll be crying out for help once more. But maybe not. Maybe, just maybe, they’ve fixed what I called last week a broken lineup.
The Rangers are 29-31 and sit four games back of first place in the American League West. All things considered, it could be a lot worse. The Seattle Mariners, who’ve been in first place in the West for the majority of the season, have cooled off in recent weeks, allowing the Houston Astros to catch up and the Rangers to stay in the hunt despite consistently losing.
For now, the hopes of a postseason berth lie solely in winning the division. If the Rangers are hoping for a Wild Card spot, they’d seriously have to improve their record to compete with teams like Cleveland, Houston, and Minnesota that currently occupy the three at-large spots. Of course, that’s so far away in the future that it’s somewhat ludicrous to even be throwing out postseason possibilities.
We’re getting close to the time when it does become a suitable conversation to have, however, as the trade deadline is next month. Decisions to buy or sell at that deadline will have to be made in the coming weeks, and it’s the results on the field that are going to dictate what the Rangers decide to do at the deadline with the assets they currently have.
Jamey Newberg wrote a terrific piece a couple of days ago outlining some potential trade possibilities for the Rangers if they were to decide to call it quits on 2025 and look forward to 2026. Check that out; it’s quite good.
If the deadline were today, I believe that the Rangers should sell. Chris Young and the front office attempted to make the team better at the margins last year, and that proved to be a futile effort. I think that doing something similar this season would yield similar results. As such, going all in and selling pieces like Tyler Mahle, who’s never going to have higher value than he does right now, or finding a new home for a player like Adolis García, could be attractive options down the line. I certainly hope not. My main wish is that this version of the team magically figures it out. Unfortunately, magic isn’t real, unless you live in Orlando.
A couple of big-ticket roster moves and miscellaneous items to close it out:
Nathan Eovaldi, who has a 1.56 ERA and is a Cy Young candidate, was removed from his start last Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays with what was called “triceps tightness.” After it was initially reported that he was taken out for purely precautionary purposes and that he was expected to make his next start, Eovaldi was placed on the 15-day IL the other day. There hasn’t been any other news regarding the seriousness of the injury, but if the initial word out of the clubhouse is to be believed, then he shouldn’t be missing too much time. Hopefully.
In Eovaldi’s stead, Kumar Rocker will be coming off the injured list and will be replacing “Big Game Nate” in the rotation for the time being. Rocker is coming off two phenomenal rehab starts at Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock; he threw seven innings of two-hit baseball where he didn’t allow a run. If that’s the Rocker who’s going to be returning to the pitching fold, watch out, everybody.
Texas called up Cody Heuer as the he corresponding move after Eovlaid was put on the injured list. Heuer last pitched in the big leagues in 2021 with both the White Sox and Cubs where he had a 4.28 ERA over 67 1/3 innings. At Triple-A Round Rock this season, he has a 3.68 ERA over 22 innings that have been spread out across 19 relief appearances.
Evan Carter should be ready to come off the IL any day now after suffering that strained quad a couple of weeks ago. Bruce Bochy said several days ago that he did some sprints around the field and looked and felt great.
The introduction of Alejandro Osuna to this lineup has been nothing but an excellent success. Osuna, while not the flashiest hitter in the world, has given the Rangers some much-needed good at-bats. In a lineup that’s severely lacking skills like situational hitting and patience, Osuna has shone through like a bright ray of wonderful sunshine.
Up Next
A three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays in the friendly minor league confines of George Steinbrenner Field. It’s going to be hot, hot, hot.
Here are the probable pitchers for a crucial series for both the Rangers and Rays:
Tuesday: (TEX) Tyler Mahle (5-2, 1.64 ERA) vs. (TB) Drew Rasmussen (4-4, 2.33 ERA)
Wednesday: (TEX) TBD vs. (TB) Shane Baz (4-3, 4.92 ERA)
Thursday: (TEX) TBD vs. (TB) Ryan Pepiot (3-5, 3.21 ERA)
I’d imagine that Rocker slots in on either Wednesday or Thursday. Leiter will probably be the other arm that goes in Tampa for Texas.
It should be a fun week of baseball. Or maybe not. I don’t know. The Rangers are an unpredictable bunch, that’s for sure.