Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Globe Life Field on Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Arlington.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
ARLINGTON — The Rangers were no-hit by their rivals at the start of last week and lost the series as a whole in calamitous fashion.
The next five observations are largely upbeat in spite of that.
If you’re surprised to hear that, no worries, because even Rangers manager Skip Schumaker acknowledged that the seven-game homestand’s prospects “didn’t look great” after the Houston Astros won three of the first four. The Rangers rallied to win the last three when they swept the Kansas City Royals this weekend at Globe Life Field and, in the process, were able to exit the week with better impressions of their offense than when they entered it.
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Here are those five observations we promised.
Your weekly big-picture perspective check
The Rangers are hardly out of the woods, and if a sub-.500 record in the last two weeks against the Astros, Rockies, Angels and Royals suggests much, they still may be a ways away from the exit. They did well to right the ship against the Royals and might’ve ultimately found an offensive formula that breeds success, but the supposed lighter portion of their schedule has still proved to be anything but, and that may be a greater reflection of where the Rangers stand than where their opponents do.
But, on the topic of opponents, a glance around the division and league is worthwhile. The Rangers start the week only 2 1/2 games back of the first-place Seattle Mariners in the American League West, only a half-game back of the third wild card berth and, despite two shaky series against them, maintain a two-game lead over the Astros in the division. If FanGraphs’ postseason projections are your thing, the Rangers hold the sixth-best odds to qualify, and an AL that’s yet to see much separation between the top, middle and bottom is largely to thank.
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The series versus the Royals was the first time that the Rangers looked demonstrably better than a supposed weak opponent since they won two of three games against the Baltimore Orioles nearly two months ago. They had a few decent sets this month — like series wins over the Cubs and Diamondbacks — but their recent inability to stack successful stretches has hamstrung their upward mobility.
If the sweep of the Royals is the start of a larger push, the tunes may change.
If it isn’t? They may not be all that different from the rest of their league.
The future is now (for the rotation)
Schumaker often notes that MacKenzie Gore, Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter are relatively green, still in the midst of their long-term development and “learning how to pitch” at the big league level.
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They’ve caught on quickly as of late.
Gore, Rocker and Leiter combined for 18 scoreless innings vs. the Royals this weekend, and in their last nine combined starts, the trio has posted a 2.57 ERA in 49 innings. The Rangers invested considerable capital in the three — Leiter was a second overall draft choice, Rocker was a third overall draft choice and Gore was acquired for five prospects — and they have yielded a decent return recently. They’re 7-2 combined in their last nine starts, and vs. the Royals, with the fate of the homestand on the line, each delivered.
“[I’m] feeding off of those guys,” Leiter said Sunday after he pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings. “A couple of good starts, and usually there’s some rotation momentum when guys are going good, and you can feed off of each other. Watching Mack and watching Rock do their thing has been fun to watch, first of all, but you kind of want to keep it going.”
Joc Pederson has given them a real-deal leadoff hitter
Texas Rangers designated hitter Joc Pederson (3) points to the dugout after connecting on a third inning home run against the Houston Astros at Globe Life Field in Arlington, May 27, 2026.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News
Joc Pederson has not only been productive in comparison with his recent standards since the Rangers shifted him to the top of their lineup.
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He’s been one of baseball’s best leadoff hitters, period.
The 33-year-old has slashed .286/.364/.694 in 15 games as the club’s leadoff hitter and has a .794 OPS this season that’s more in line with his career averages. His 1.058 OPS and 190 wRC+ are each the second-highest among players who’ve taken at least 40 plate appearances at the leadoff spot this season, and while the sample size is small, the impact that it’s had on the team’s offense isn’t.
Pederson’s five home runs this homestand are the most by any player league-wide in that span. His ability to get on base, coupled with third baseman Josh Jung, right fielder Brandon Nimmo and first baseman Jake Burger’s abilities to produce behind him, has given the Rangers a legitimately effective top of the order while shortstop Corey Seager and left fielder Wyatt Langford remain sidelined.
But, if you ask him, there’s no real surprise.
“I was bad last year,” Pederson said, “but my baseball card is pretty good.”
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The offense might be close to average (that’s a compliment)
If you’ve followed the Rangers for the last two-plus seasons, well, you may not recognize what an average offense resembles.
OK, to be transparent, average is subjective. The Rangers have a .698 OPS as a team that ranks 17th-best league-wide, a 98 wRC+ that ranks 17th-best and 237 total runs scored, which is barely better than the game’s bottom-third. But, in the month of May, their .703 OPS ranked 14th-best, their 112 runs scored ranked 18th-best and their 100 wRC+ ranked 12th-best. It is, at the very least, an upward trend.
Their sweep of the Royals represented the best of the slight uptick. The Rangers slugged at a home ballpark where that concept has eluded them with 14 extra-base hits in three games. They scored early in games with nine first-inning runs. They executed small ball well with bunts, hit-and-run plays and keen moves on the basepaths. They were timely with 14 two-out hits and nine with runners in scoring position. They, most importantly, did not rely on any one facet to produce.
“One through nine,” Jung said, “everybody was doing their job.”
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The bullpen’s first big bump
If there were any worrisome trends that manifested themselves vs. the Royals, it’s that the club’s bullpen, a strength for much of the season, hit its first meaningful speed bump. The Rangers blew a three-run lead in Saturday’s win and were forced to rally in the ninth inning. They allowed their six-run lead in Sunday’s win to be sliced in half and needed to use closer Jacob Latz to secure the victory.
The bullpen — which had been one of baseball’s statistical best for much of this season — posted a 7.17 ERA over the seven-game homestand. The expected high-leverage quartet of Latz, Jakob Junis, Tyler Alexander and Chris Martin combined to allow eight runs. It might only have been a mere blip, and given the cost-efficient way in which the relief staff was constructed, it’s a credit to the unit that it took this long into the season to face a stretch like this.
It’s something to monitor nonetheless.