Texas homestand thought: Rangers split sweeps with Reds, Mariners

If I told you the Rangers would go 3-3 on the homestand, would you guess two sweeps were involved? Probably not. If there is any consolation in the matter, this is exactly how you would draw up a .500 stint against these two specific teams. There are no end-of-season tiebreakers to worry about with the Reds.

Winning a Mariners series for the first time since 2023 feels like a weight off everyone's shoulders. In fact, three wins already match the win totals we saw vs. Seattle in both 2024 and 2025. An insane stat to hear about a division opponent.

So, without further ado...

Thought 1 - The late-inning bullpen situation

This is a weird one. It's been a really good season out of the bullpen for Texas. They are top three in bullpen ERA. Almost every single guy has been incredible through 12 games played. Except for the two relievers you went into the season expecting to be the late-game, high-leverage calls from Skip Schumaker.

I mentioned last week something feeling off with Chris Martin. Well, the struggles continued for him. Losing the home opener was a gut-wrencher after Martin let up the go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth inning. His season totals are now up to five runs (four earned), nine hits, and just three strikeouts in 5.0 IP.

In fairness to Martin, he responded on Sunday with 1.1 innings of shutout ball. The job got done to keep the Rangers in the game, which they were losing at the time. Because Robert Garcia went walk, single for Cincinnati to re-take the lead after Joc Pederson hit an emotional game-tying home run. On the list of things that cannot happen, a sequence like this is near the top.

Schumaker had to make a change going into the Seattle series and did. Garcia got the eighth inning Monday night, putting together a nice 1-2-3 in a one-run game. But Jakob Junis got the save before repeating the feat on Tuesday. The latter was a lot less clean, getting saved by some poor base running, really.

Still, Junis and Tyler Alexander now lead Texas with two saves each. I think the early-season conclusion tells us late and close-game situations need to be feel-based moving forward. Schumaker maybe tipped his hand in doing so by putting Cole Winn out there on Wednesday afternoon. Good to see him come through in a pressure situation as well.

Closing may not be in some of these relievers' DNA but if it works, it works. Martin even performed well in the low-leverage situation (Wednesday's sixth inning). Keep going to those guys until the cycle of trust inevitably resets.

Thought 2 - Joc Pederson goes Aaron Rodgers and, for the most part, delivers

“I think a lot of people blow things out of proportion," Pederson said Sunday. "There's still Opening Day paint on the field. You guys can view it as you want, but it's like eight games in the season, so it's a long way to go.”

This was Pederson's way of telling fans to R-E-L-A-X – AKA the ole Aaron Rodgers.

Pederson's time in Texas is well documented and not for the right reasons. Starting the season 0-16 did not help, hearing the Globe Life Field boos. Maybe it's exactly the push Pederson needed. Because since then, it's been solid.

Hits in three straight games took place for Pederson during the homestand, all of which proved to be important. The aforementioned game-tying home run seemed to be cathartic for Pederson. One night later in the Seattle opener, we got a double. Tuesday brought an infield hit that JP Crawford threw into the stands. Pederson then scored off the Kyle Higashioka three-run home run two batters later.

Pederson did not get hits in three straight games last season until Aug. 18 in Kansas City. So, yes, this is progress being shown by Pederson. Extra bases are coming with it as well.

The streak came to an end Wednesday afternoon after two flyouts before Andrew McCutchen subbed in as a pinch hitter.

Credit needs to be given where credit is due. Pederson was clearly frustrated with himself, fan reactions, and the results. He put something together during this six-game stretch. For the time being, leash extended.

Thought 3 - Opportunities taken advantage of? Or more offensive struggles?

Of the 51 offensive innings for the Rangers over six games, runs were only scored in seven of them. Looking big picture, this was not a banner homestand for the bats. Quick innings were all over the place – just look at George Kirby throwing a complete (eight-inning) game in just 90 pitches. Texas really struggled to get guys on base.

But when they did, results usually followed. This would certainly be the optimistic way of looking at things.

Burger got a hit Monday after a Seager single and wild pitch to deliver an RBI. Higashioka hit the home run on Tuesday. Brandon Nimmo putting the ball in play the following day with the bases loaded led to a throwing error and two runs. All three of those sequences were why Texas won.

Maybe this just applies to the Mariners series, considering those were the homestand wins. Obviously, watching the Rangers attempt to put anything together vs. the Reds was incredibly frustrating.

This time last week, I said we might find out if the bats are legit if they can produce inside Globe Life Field. For the most part... they did not produce. I'm willing to once again kick the can down the road, though, and remain optimistic. Maybe hopeful is the better term.

Singles

• Watching Jake Burger defensively at first base, specifically against Seattle, was a lot of fun. Plenty of balls came his way and it was nearly flawless. Pulling off a 3-6-3 double play to win Monday night should not go unnoticed.
• If the concern about Nathan Eovaldi was at a two last week, it's now at a one or zero. Maybe it went up to a three after Brendan Donovan's home run. But Eovaldi settled in and turned in a quality start in a big spot.
• And if we're giving starting pitchers praise, Kumar Rocker deserves some. The defense behind him was below standard, and he still battled through five innings vs. Cincinnati. One step at a time with Rocker, similar to early days of Jack Leiter.
• The talk seems to be about Ezekiel Duran replacing Josh Jung at third base. Maybe it should be Josh Smith at second base? Yes, Wednesday was better with two singles and what should have been a home run. But his OPS+ entering the day was 3. Not much going on for him right now.
• Roof debate is going to continue. I've thought about writing a story about it but it can be summed up quite easily – open the roof at every single opportunity.

Coming up

How about a three-city West Coast road trip?

A trip to Los Angeles to face the back-to-back World Series champions is always fun. Maybe Chris Young should call to see if David Robertson is available.

From there, two more AL West showdowns take place. And from an offensive standpoint, the pair of series should be completely different. Hitters enjoy the AAA ballpark in Sacramento (and A's pitching), where the 2025 Rangers averaged six runs per game and went 4-2.

Then there is T-Mobile Park, where Rangers dreams go to die. History suggests it will be tough for Texas to duplicate this past three-game set up in Seattle.