Rangers’ Struggles Against Top Pitchers Raise Concerns About Playoff Chances

As the Rangers zigzagged their way back to .500, and momentarily above it, there was this theory (or maybe just a hope) that went like this: If they could somehow squeak into the playoffs, the tandem of Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi could make them as formidable as anybody.

Alternate theory: Only if they can hit.

Good as deGrom and Eovaldi have been, the Rangers would only face tough pitchers come October. And against tough pitchers, they just don’t stand a chance. Now, Tarik Skubal, who started Detroit’s 2-1 win on Sunday, may be the toughest of them all, but it applies to the merely very good, as well.

“The only thing you can try to do against a tough pitcher like that is be in a position to win the game, which we were,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “We can talk about approach, but he’s one of the best in the game. He’s tough duty for hitters. You hope you battle and find a way to score, which we did.”

Rangers’ Recent Performance

Well, once. On a wild pitch. But facts are facts. They did score. Tied the game, even.

Before we get to the rest of the postmortem, we should mention the Rangers won the series against Detroit and have a chance to get legitimately hot with two more series on this homestand against clubs with losing records, the Parts Unknown Athletics and Atlanta. Win both of those series and the Rangers will have accomplished what they need to on the final homestand before trade-deadline decisions must be made.

But, they also took their first three-game winning streak in a month into Sunday and had a chance to create real momentum.

Instead, aside from another plucky pitching performance by stand-in starter Jacob Latz, all the Rangers did was raise more questions not just about how capable they are of making the playoffs, but just what they are capable of doing in the playoffs.

Struggles Against Top Pitchers

Against the top one-third of MLB starting pitchers, based on ERA, the Rangers are woeful. With Sunday’s loss, the Rangers are 5-17 in those games. The top third has a 1.83 ERA against the Rangers. The Rangers are hitting .195 against them. After Skubal struck out 11 in 6⅔ innings without a walk, those pitchers have a 5.77 strikeout-to-walk rate against Texas. Yes, it’s one thing for Skubal to look like Skubal. But the Rangers have made 13 others (some on more than one occasion) look like him, too.

Texas Rangers catcher Jonah Heim reacted after striking out with runners in scoring position during the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers at Globe Life Field on Sunday, July 20, 2025.

Bochy’s Comments

A day earlier, Bochy had been asked what amounted to “success” against the game’s best pitchers. He acknowledged that .500 might be acceptable, but said the Rangers’ goals were higher.

“I guess kind of like playing on the road, you think about .500, but I don’t want to put a number like that on it,” he said. “I like to think we’re going to win more games than we lose against top-tier pitchers, because of who we have. We feel like we can match up with anybody.”

Rangers’ Lineup Struggles

It also doesn’t help that injuries and underperformance have decimated the right side of the Rangers’ lineup. Josh Jung is in the minors. Jake Burger is nursing a quadriceps injury. Switch-hitting Sam Haggerty, who has thrived from the right side, is dealing with a sore ankle that required a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment and forced him to the injured list.

It left Bochy with this option: Either let lefties Evan Carter, Josh Smith, Alejandro Osuna and Rowdy Tellez face a guy who was allowing lefties a .180 batting average and .406 OPS, or use unproven right-handers to try to gain a platoon edge. And it’s not like the lefty brigade has made a case for themselves against lefties. They were a combined 17 for 98 (.173) this season.

So the Rangers ended up with a bottom-third of the batting order composed of Cody Freeman, making his first career start, Justin Foscue and Ezequiel Duran. They were hitting a composite .119 against lefties.

Conclusion

This, it seems, is the Rangers’ only strategy when the best in the game start: to hope.

Last we checked, hope is not a strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the Rangers’ record against top-tier pitchers?

A: The Rangers are 5-17 against the top one-third of MLB starting pitchers, based on ERA.

Q: How have the Rangers performed against left-handed pitchers?

A: The Rangers have struggled against left-handed pitchers, with a combined .173 batting average from their left-handed hitters.

Q: What is the status of the Rangers’ lineup?

A: The Rangers’ lineup has been decimated by injuries and underperformance, with several key players missing or struggling.