Subscribe
Follow Us
The Texas Rangers’ brutal offensive slump continued Thursday as the team lost 3-0 to the Athletics. It’s the fourth time the Rangers have been shutout this season. With the loss, Texas fell to 16-16 on the year, trailing the first-place Seattle Mariners by three games in the American League West.
Following the disheartening defeat, the Rangers opted to shake up the roster. The team demoted Jake Burger to Triple-A Round Rock, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal on X. First baseman Blaine Crim will take Burger’s place on the Major League roster once his contract is selected.
The Rangers are sending Burger down to Triple-A to give the fifth-year veteran an opportunity to “reset.” Burger is off to a brutal offensive start in 2025, along with the rest of the club. He’s slashing just .186/.229/.330 with three home runs, 12 RBI, 13 runs scored, an OPS+ of 61 and -0.7 bWAR in 29 games.
The Rangers desperately seek an offensive spark
The Rangers reportedly hope Burger’s stay at Round Rock is short. The team does not need to place him on waivers as he has one minor league option remaining.
After Thursday’s loss to the A’s, manager Bruce Bochy blasted the Rangers' lineup, calling the performance “probably one of our worst games.”
Texas has now gone 3-7 over the last 10 games, losing four straight series – to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Francisco Giants and twice to the Athletics. The Rangers have also gone seven consecutive games without a home run, marking the longest streak for the team in nearly four years.
Making matters more frustrating, the Rangers are getting strong starting pitching performances, they just aren’t producing enough at the plate to take advantage. After a solid outing from Nathan Eovaldi on Wednesday, Texas even made franchise history.
Eovaldi went six innings, allowing one run on six hits with no walks and eight strikeouts. That showing dropped the rotation’s ERA to just 2.99, which is the team’s third-best ERA through March and April – and its lowest mark since 1983. Still, despite Eovaldi’s dominant outing, Texas went on to loss to the A’s 7-1 after the bullpen coughed up six runs in the ninth inning.
Rangers starter Jacob deGrom added an excellent outing of his own, earning his first win in over two years on Tuesday. deGrom tossed six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out seven batters.
The Rangers hope their luck turns around when they start a three-game series at home against the division-leading Mariners on Friday.
