Rangers Battle Back to Take Down Padres in Game One of 2026 Series
Your heart rate can calm down now, Rangers’ fans. The opening game of the 2026 series between these two ball clubs was a nail-biter from the very beginning, matching each other's energy and creating an extremely fun game. For the Rangers, veteran ace Jacob deGrom started on the mound, and for the Padres, Randy Vasquez started the game, and they both got rattled and berated from the first pitch. Vasquez was taken out of the game quickly, leading the Padres to rely on a bullpen game after giving up seven runs in just over three innings pitched. For deGrom, he was in for a treat from the Padres first baseman, Ty France, as he hit a 363-foot grand slam to right field, putting the Rangers behind quickly 5-0, but the team from Texas swiftly responded with a six-spot in the bottom of the first. After some back and forth, the Rangers were able to take the lead with some help from Wyatt Langford in the fourth and eighth innings, and Ezequiel Duran in the sixth inning, to finish the seesaw game with a final score of 9-7. The second game of this three-game series will continue tomorrow at 3:05 PM EST.
The Offense is Back
In an act of desperation, the offense finally woke up. As they’re struggling in somewhat of a midseason slump, the young talent on the team was able to get the Rangers' confidence in the dugout and create a fun game not only for themselves but for the fans as well. For starters, Langford had arguably his best game of the season so far, finishing the day with three hits in five plate appearances, knocking in a one-run double in the fourth, a single in the sixth, and a 430-foot nail in the coffin, no-doubter to left-center field in the bottom of the eighth. Coming back from a nagging injury, being out numerous weeks is tough, and to put up numbers like he did today against a pretty decent San Diego squad is a feat in itself, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can continue to build off of this performance as we get closer to the All-Star break. Some more names to mention come from the young talent, ‘Little Rascal’ Alejandro Osuna and Josh Jung. Osuna, the former WBC outfielder for Mexico, went two for three today with a two-run double lined to right field in the bottom of the first and a single in the bottom of the fourth. Jung, a former first-round pick for the Rangers, continues his dominance in the American League as he’s hitting .304 on the season, and today he got two hits, both being singles in the fourth and sixth innings. Overall, the team did an excellent job of coming back from a sudden deficit and didn’t crumble under pressure, slowly chipping away at the lead by playing great, fundamental baseball.
The Pitching Problem Must Be Fixed
There’s no excuse for deGrom to have the disgusting start he had today, regardless of who the opponent is. The Padres, in general, have been a decent team throughout the season, but they’ve hit a wall themselves as they’re 5-5 in their last ten games, sitting 9.5 games behind the reigning LA Dodgers with a 38-36 record. With that being said, San Diego’s offense can pop off at any time, and it did just that today, scoring five runs in the first inning. Although deGrom was able to push through five more innings and only give up one more run, to apparently, his worst enemy, France, with the type of division the Rangers are in, games can’t get out of hand like that. Starting pitching has been subpar as of late for the Rangers, as rising star Jack Leiter had a horrid game himself last night in the 9-3 loss to the Twins, allowing six runs in four innings. Then, on June 16th, against the Twins, 26-year-old Kumar Rocker didn’t even reach four innings, as he allowed seven runs in 3.1 innings in a 12-2 losing effort. Rocker and Leiter are really seen as the future of the Rangers’ starting rotation. Still, if they’re constantly being experimented with and consistently being mediocre on the mound, something must happen, or change, or even be sellers at the trade deadline. I really believe Rocker deserves to be moved to the bullpen, as he’s had his best performances pitching in relief, and that’s even stretching back to the Bochy era. Leiter, on the other hand, has had good outings on the mound, but it’s almost as if as soon as he gets met with pressure with runners on base, he starts to fold. He has great pitching mechanics and a deadly arsenal of pitches, but Skip Schumaker and his coaching staff must bring out all his potential and work on it.
