Rangers road trip thoughts: Texas takes series from Phillies, Orioles

Winning a series against the Phillies to open the season sure does sound familiar. Taking two out of three from a National League contender felt like a positive way to begin the 2026 campaign. Watching the Rangers follow the performance up with another two wins vs. the Orioles added a nice cherry on top. A four-game win streak bookended by a couple of losses.

There's plenty to go to regarding these six games. Winning only makes the conversation that much more fun. Three thoughts on the Rangers road trip:

Thought 1 - How about Andrew McCutchen?

Just about a month ago, Andrew McCutchen did not have a job. I'm sure when the Rangers signed him to a Minor League deal, they thought contributions would come at some point in the season. But through six games? Arguably being the biggest surprise of the season thus far? It's been an incredibly nice development.

McCutchen is only truly getting in there against left-handed pitching. For the time being, Joc Pederson is getting starts vs. the righties. And rightfully so – again, for the time being – considering McCutchen's splits from a season ago. His vs. RHP numbers are well below average.

Four hits and four RBIs came in the Philadelphia series. All of those runs turned out to be crucial, leading to the two victories at Citizens Bank Park. And speaking of numbers vs. RHP, an RBI single coming off Johan Duran in extra innings is incredibly impressive. A clutch moment for Cutch.

Wednesday's game in Baltimore brought another hit (and a ton of defensive action in right field), meaning McCutchen is hitting .455 in 11 plate appearances with an OPS of 1.364.

People are going to continue to call for McCutchen to become the full-time DH because of Pederson's struggles. At some point, Pederson will run out of opportunities. However, Sam Haggerty is still a great hitter vs. lefties and might be a more natural replacement when the time comes.

But for now, let's enjoy the production the Rangers are getting from a veteran they signed out of the blue during spring training.

Thought 2 - Starting pitching depth already beginning to show

Starting pitching depth is critical in today's baseball. Setting a rotation of five to begin the season is nice. Things happen, though. Guys are going to miss starts due to injuries and others will need to step up when needed. Many prepare for these scenarios in the middle months. The Rangers called upon it in Game 2.

Jacob deGrom wakes up with a stiff neck? No problem, Jacob Latz is ready to roll. Latz, who lost the back-end job to Kumar Rocker, showed he is capable of being a starter. Four innings of no-hit baseball against a stacked Phillies lineup with just one walk is just about as good as you can ask for on a couple of hours' notice.

Mackinzie Gore looked like the first half of last season before getting touched up a bit in the fifth inning to close out the Phillies series. The same can be said about Jacob deGrom, despite two home runs making his stat line not look overly impressive. deGrom's slider came out like its dominant self while the velo is still clearly there. We'll take 29 more of those, please.

Jack Leiter arguably performed the best of the bunch. A first inning full of hard contact from the Orioles did not deter him at all. Six innings, two runs, five hits, eight strikeouts, and (most importantly) only one walk. Leiter is on a trajectory that should excite every single Rangers fan.

Rough Opening Day for Nathan Eovaldi got followed up by an even rougher second outing. Not usually what the Rangers get from Evo, who pitched a Maddux exactly one year ago today. Truly the lone blemish(es) of the first six games.

All of this without getting to the guy who is technically the fifth starter. Every single one of them is going to come up in a big spot at some point this year. And while it's only been six games, hard not to have full confidence in what Chris Young has put together.

Thought 3 - Texas bullpen got through five games before truly getting roughed up

Don't think it's unfair to say of the three position groups, the bullpen had the biggest unknowns just a few days ago. Young brought back a few familiar faces but really had to work to put this unit together. Not the worst idea either, considering how last season looked at times.

And for the most part, everything went quite smoothly. Saturday's ninth inning in Philadelphia almost turned disastrous, mainly from Robert Garica. Chris Martin did not help much and the Phillies were able to send the game into extra innings. But Tyler Alexander – who now is the holder of two saves – pitched a clean 10th to secure the win.

I believe Cole Winn is really going to be a dude this season for the Rangers. Winn has given up just one hit through three innings thus far while striking out three. Ten swings and misses on just 44 pitches will be taken.

Monday saw the dam fully break. Alexander could not get Eovaldi out of trouble before allowing an ER of his own. Carter Baumler gave up a home run to Dylan Beavers. These games are going to pop up over 162.

A true closer remains missing from the group. Garcia will surely get another shot in the near future, while something just feels off to me about Martin. But overall, getting through five games on the road trip, helping reward solid offensive performances, is a positive you take back to Arlington.

Singles

• A potentially fun question. Who would be the offensive MVP thus far, Brandon Nimmo or Jake Burger? Nimmo appears to be the sparkplug the Rangers wanted but Burger is fitting into the cleanup spot quite well.
• I think we all know how the Joc Pederson situation ends. However, it's just not the time to give up yet, no matter how much it hurts to see him hitting in the heart of the order. His sac fly on Monday was nice to see. Everything else, thumbs down.
• Josh Jung is going to be the next popular name to criticize despite two hits on Wednesday afternoon. This is a guy who missed spring training due to an injury. Not an excuse to start 0-17 with a whiff rate over 25% by any means. But I do believe patience is going to be needed here. The Rangers aren't going to give up on him anytime soon. A different situation than Pederson.
• Finally, the concern meter for Eovaldi sits at about a two.

Coming up

Two fun series are heading to Globe Life Field. The Cincinnati Reds come for Interleague play before getting the first taste of AL West action vs. the Seattle Mariners.

I think this is where the bats should really be judged. Both Cincinnati and Seattle are going to roll into Globe Life Field – the most pitcher-friendly park in baseball last year – with elite rotations. Seattle owns a top-10 team ERA through seven games, a place Cincinnati was too before giving up eight on Wednesday. Seeing production from the Rangers like we did to start the year would only raise more eyebrows.

Opening Day always brings excitement. Eovaldi and deGrom appear lined up to face Seattle. Hopefully, GLF is amped up for the occasion.