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Texas Rangers starting pitcher Kumar Rocker (80) heads to the dugout after a pitching change during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo\/LM Otero)<\/p>\n
LM Otero\/AP Photo\/LM Otero<\/p>\n
ARLINGTON \u2014 Kumar Rocker has come so far this year. He\u2019s pitched more than ever before. He\u2019s shown an effective third pitch. He\u2019s actually held baserunners. He\u2019s mostly fielded his position alertly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Sunday, though, with a sweep for the Rangers<\/a> over Baltimore at stake, was a reminder that he is still very much a work in progress. It set the tone for a 10-5 loss to Baltimore, snapping a four-game winning streak and sending the Rangers back to .500 for the eighth time in the last 31 days. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n On Sunday, Rocker<\/a> hesitated to throw the splitter, with which he\u2019s shown flashes of effectiveness this season. And he failed once again to instinctively go to first on a key first-inning play that led to a pair of Baltimore runs before the Rangers ever came to bat. After Jake Burger made a diving stop on Dylan Beavers\u2019 hard-hit, two-out grounder, Rocker was caught flat-footed on the mound watching the play. Beavers beat him to the base, forcing in one run. Former Ranger Leody Taveras followed with a run-scoring double.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a momentum-changing play,\u201d manager Skip Schumaker<\/a> said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a mental lapse that happened at the wrong time. It\u2019s something he knows. It\u2019s not like it hasn\u2019t been talked about. He\u2019s done a really good job of cleaning a lot of stuff up. It\u2019s the first time that\u2019s happened this year, and I\u2019m hoping it doesn\u2019t happen again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s been talked about because Rocker had an issue with it in 2025. Twice in a start at Tampa Bay, he fumbled his responsibility to cover first on crucial ground balls. A day later he was demoted to the minors to work on the ancillary elements of the game, such as fielding duties and holding runners. But the Rangers called him back just 10 days later. Their need in the majors outweighed their desire for a tutorial.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mostly, though, the message was received. After 16 baserunners were successful stealing against him to start his career, he\u2019s had two of the last eight caught. He\u2019s been far more attentive to covering first. Sunday was a slip-up, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think [my issue] was more mental than anything,\u201d said Rocker, who was charged with six runs in three-plus innings. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel like I showed up ready to play, and it kind of carried onto the field and set the tone. I made a costly error, just allowed those runs, and then just didn\u2019t give the guys any momentum to begin with. That\u2019s just on me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n To be sure, it wasn\u2019t just the fielding mistake that was the problem on Sunday. Rocker did allow three other hits in the first inning, including Taveras\u2019 two-out double. He allowed homers to Colton Cowser and Gunnar Henderson in the second. And immediately after Brandon Nimmo clawed the Rangers back with a two-out, three-run homer in the third, Rocker walked No. 9 hitter Carlos Narvaez, who hadn\u2019t walked in 53 MLB plate appearances dating to last season, to start the fourth. He was removed for Jordan Montgomery<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n