<\/p>\n
Texas Rangers Jake Burger (21) reacts after connecting on a 2-run home run as he rounds the basses against the Seattle Mariners in the third inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington, July 27, 2026.<\/p>\n
Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
ARLINGTON \u2014 There are two primary schools of thought that explain how the Rangers<\/a> bested their bogeyman.<\/p>\n It could\u2019ve been because of a well-designed game plan, as manager Skip\u00a0Schumaker suggested, and a lineup that executed it. Or, it could\u2019ve been because the law of averages are real, as designated hitter\u00a0Joc Pederson <\/a>posed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt some time,\u201d Pederson said, \u201cwe were going to get him.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Oh, yeah, they got him.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Rangers thumped right-handed pitcher George Kirby in a 7-3 win over the Mariners at Globe Life Field Monday afternoon<\/a>. They scored seven runs against him. They hit four home runs off him. They chased him from the game before the fifth inning began. They rewrote what had been a troubled history against the 28-year-old who, in a dozen previous starts against the Rangers, had posted a 1.33 ERA and never allowed more than three earned runs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s dominated us for a while,\u201d Pederson said. \u201cI think he\u2019s dominated quite a few people, so it\u2019s not like he gets hit a lot, but we were able to string some really good at-bats together and put up some runs.\u201d<\/p>\n Pederson jumped on Kirby\u2019s sweeper for a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning, and one frame later, he hit a first-pitch sinker for a three-run home run. Shortstop Ezequiel Duran pulled a four-seam fastball into the left field seats for a leadoff home run in the third inning, and three at-bats after that, first baseman Jake Burger<\/a> hit an in-the-zone sweeper into left-center field for the team\u2019s fourth home run.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c[Hitting coach Justin] Viele has been really good at game planning and having some real confidence going into each game,\u201d Schumaker said. \u201cJoc Pederson starting it off, that\u2019s always a momentum changer when you lead off with a home run, you saw the energy that he brought. Zeke Duran sees him really well, that\u2019s one of the guys that we had a good feeling about today, and he provided a lot of offense again.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n It further confirmed that the Rangers, contrary to popular belief, can slug the baseball at their home ballpark. They\u2019ve now hit 58 home runs at Globe Life Field since May 1, the fourth-most by any team at their home ballpark in that span, and have seemingly ditched the theory that their stadium isn\u2019t conducive to offense. They\u2019d hit the second-fewest home runs at home\u00a0leaguewide in the season\u2019s first month-plus, and the seventh-fewest at home leaguewide for all of last year. Burger, who hit two home runs this series, said the team genuinely considered \u201cbringing everybody\u2019s bat out there and lighting them on fire\u201d in a \u201cTed Lasso”-esque ritual to counter what appeared to be a vicious park effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFortunately, we didn\u2019t have to do that,\u201d Burger said with a laugh. \u201cIt feels like whatever they determined from an MLB or investigative standpoint, it\u2019s working. It doesn\u2019t feel like you have to fully get a ball to get it out. I look at my backside home run Game 1, I hit it 99 mph, and I feel like that would\u2019ve been a fly out at the beginning of the season and all of last year. I don\u2019t know what it is, but I like it, I\u2019m always a fan of more balls going out of the yard.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n