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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.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
ARLINGTON\u00a0\u2014 The Rangers were no-hit by their rivals<\/a> at the start of last week and lost the series as a whole in calamitous fashion.\u00a0<\/p>\n The next five observations are largely upbeat in spite of that.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you\u2019re surprised to hear that, no worries, because even Rangers manager Skip Schumaker acknowledged that the seven-game homestand’s prospects \u201cdidn\u2019t look great\u201d after the Houston\u00a0Astros won three of the first four. The Rangers rallied to win the last three when they swept the Kansas City Royals<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Here are those five observations we promised.\u00a0<\/p>\n Your weekly big-picture perspective check\u00a0<\/p>\n 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\u2019ve ultimately found an offensive formula that breeds success<\/a>, 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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\u00a0thing, the Rangers hold the sixth-best odds to qualify, and an AL that\u2019s yet to see much separation between the top, middle and bottom is largely to thank.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 like series wins over the Cubs and Diamondbacks \u2014 but their recent inability to stack successful stretches has hamstrung their upward mobility.\u00a0<\/p>\n If the sweep of the Royals is the start of a larger push, the tunes may change.\u00a0<\/p>\n If it isn\u2019t? They may not be all that different from the rest of their league.\u00a0<\/p>\n The future is now (for the rotation)<\/p>\n Schumaker often notes that MacKenzie Gore, Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter are relatively green, still in the midst of their long-term development and \u201clearning how to pitch\u201d at the big league level.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n They\u2019ve caught on quickly as of late.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gore, Rocker and Leiter combined for 18 scoreless innings vs. the Royals<\/a> 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 \u2014 Leiter was a second overall draft choice, Rocker was a third overall draft choice and Gore was acquired for five prospects \u2014 and they have yielded a decent return recently. They\u2019re 7-2 combined in their last nine starts, and vs. the Royals, with the fate of the homestand on the line, each delivered.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c[I\u2019m] feeding off of those guys,\u201d Leiter said Sunday after he pitched 5 2\/3 scoreless innings. \u201cA couple of good starts, and usually there\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Joc Pederson has given them a real-deal leadoff hitter<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Joc Pederson has not only been productive in comparison with his recent standards<\/a> since the Rangers shifted him to the top of their lineup.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n He\u2019s been one of baseball\u2019s best leadoff hitters, period.\u00a0<\/p>\n The 33-year-old has slashed .286\/.364\/.694 in 15 games as the club\u2019s leadoff hitter and has a .794 OPS this season that\u2019s more in line with his career averages. His 1.058 OPS and 190 wRC+ are each the second-highest among players who\u2019ve taken at least 40 plate appearances at the leadoff spot this season, and while the sample size is small, the impact that it\u2019s had on the team\u2019s offense isn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pederson\u2019s 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\u2019s abilities to produce behind him, has given the Rangers a legitimately effective top of the order while shortstop Corey Seager<\/a> and left fielder Wyatt Langford remain sidelined.<\/p>\n But, if you ask him, there\u2019s no real surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was bad last year,\u201d Pederson said, \u201cbut my baseball card is pretty good.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The offense might be close to average (that\u2019s a compliment)\u00a0<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve followed the Rangers for the last two-plus seasons, well, you may not recognize what an\u00a0average offense\u00a0resembles.\u00a0<\/p>\n OK, to be transparent,\u00a0average\u00a0is subjective. The Rangers have a .698 OPS as a team that ranks 17th-best league-wide, a 98\u00a0wRC+ 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOne through nine,\u201d Jung said, \u201ceverybody was doing their job.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The bullpen\u2019s first big bump<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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