Introduction to the Rangers’ Resurgence
Among the many things that make no sense in the Rangers’ resurgence in the playoff race is this: Their supposed spark plug is barely hitting .200. His OPS is below .600. And yet, is there any doubt that Cody Freeman is in the middle of every win?
In the just-completed week, topped off by Sunday’s 4-2 win over Houston, the Rangers won three times. Freeman played a significant role in all of them.
In the first, Freeman tied the game with two outs in the ninth. In the second, he scored the winning run in extras. On Sunday, he saved the best for last, starting a two-out rally with a single and a mad dash around the bases on Josh Jung’s double to give Texas a 2-1 lead. His postslide, spinning leap to his feat perhaps imbued what followed: a game-breaking two-run homer by Jake Burger, the other key ingredient in staying afloat over the last week.
Focusing on the Winning Hand
In fact, when Freeman has started this year, the Rangers are 10-5, a .667 winning percentage. That’s the number that matters, not his .211 batting average. Funny thing, too: The Rangers probably need to play .667 baseball over their last 18 games to get to 86 wins to squeeze into the playoffs. There might be a hint in there. Forget the hot hand. Play the winning hand.
“He is a catalyst, a spark for the club,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “Sure, you can look at the average or whatever, but there is always more to the story.
“He’s doing the little things that are helping us win games. He plays hard. He plays to win. Those are winning types of players.”
Team Effort
To be clear, no Rangers win these days is a one-man effort. The Rangers don’t come back a night after an 11-0 thumping to win the series — the first time they’ve won a home series from the Astros since 2021 — without the usual ensemble cast. Starter Patrick Corbin took a no-hitter to the fifth and a shutout to the sixth. Shawn Armstrong retired the final four batters of the game to complete a perfect week: 11 batters faced, 11 batters retired, two saves and appearances in all three Rangers wins. Jung stepped into the No. 3 spot in the order for the first time since the first week of June and delivered the go-ahead hit. Burger, playing on a still tender right wrist, delivered his third extra-base hit in the week since he was activated from the injured list.
Playoff Chances and Upcoming Games
And it’s going to continue to take a village to float the Rangers’ chances. Their playoff chances are still hovering at just above 10%, according to FanGraphs. The Astros series was the first of four consecutive against teams currently holding playoff spots. Milwaukee, owners of the best record in the majors, arrives in Arlington on Monday; then it’s off to New York to face the Mets and Houston for a rematch with the Astros. If the Rangers get Corey Seager and Adolis García back, it will likely be for the final homestand of the year, which begins Sept. 19 against Miami. The kids and the newly created core have to keep it together until then.
“It seems like our offense is finding ways to get it done,” said Jung, who is hitting .375 over the last two weeks with nine RBIs in 12 games. “Jake, specifically, he’s playing through what he’s playing through and still finding ways to take good swings. He’s having huge hits for us consistently. I couldn’t be happier for him and he’s helping this offense.”
Said Burger, who missed two weeks with a sprained wrist that may or may not be fully healthy at the moment: “I only care about winning baseball games. So, however I can get out there and do that, I’m going to do that. It’s obviously tricky when you are not feeling like you’re 100%, but I feel as close as I possibly can to it. And if I swing at pitches in the strike zone, good things tend to happen.”
Quality At-Bats and Team Energy
In the sixth inning, facing Houston’s Framber Valdez for the third time, all three seemed to put together knowledge gleaned from their previous plate appearances to craft quality at-bats. Freeman, on guard for Valdez’s sinker, which moved more than he expected, made the determination to stay back longer in his third at-bat. It gave him enough time to react to a curveball that was diving below the zone.
The Texas Rangers’ Cody Freeman slides into home plate ahead of the throw to Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz (21) in the sixth inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Sept. 7, 2025. Freeman scored on a Josh Jung double.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
Jung had also come to the conclusion that Valdez’s sinker was moving more than even he was used to. With Freeman on first and two outs, he took a big swing at a 2-0 pitch, but it was a changeup that faded below the zone, then dialed back his swing enough to shoot a sinker that stayed in the zone into the alley in left center. Freeman, with an exceptional read on the ball, scored from first, jumped up, spun, clenched his fists and offered a guttural, non-PG version of a “let’s go.” Then gave another one to Burger as he approached the plate from the on-deck circle.
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
“He’s high energy all the time,” Burger said of Freeman. “He doesn’t
