Rangers' Jake Burger Remains in Game After Being Hit By Pitch vs. Padres

One of the hottest hitters in the Texas Rangers lineup was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning of Saturday's game with the San Diego Padres.

Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers first baseman Jake Burger took a pitch to his right hand during his at-bat in the ninth inning of Saturday’s game wth the San Diego Padres.

Burger — who hit a home run earlier in the game to give Texas a 3-1 lead — was batting against Padres reliever Adrian Morejon. On a 2-2 count, Burger took a 99.5 mph four-seam fastball to what appeared to be the top of this right hand.

He fell to the ground in obvious pain, stayed there for a moment and then got up. Burger was walked to first base by manager Skip Schumaker and a team trainer before Burger stayed in the game.

While at first base, the Rangers used Cody Freeman as a pinch-hitter for Nicky Lopez and Burger received additional attention from the trainer at the dugout before returning to first base.

Jake Burger’s Recent Tear

The perfect weekend for a Burger bomb! #AllForTX pic.twitter.com/yxnGsj0SPM

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) June 20, 2026

The game went to extra innings with the Rangers and Padres tied at 3-3 and Burger remained in the game to play first base. Texas went on to lose the game, 6-4, in 10 innings.

After the game, Burger told reporters that his hand had already been scanned and that everything checked out. The ball hit one of the knuckles on his right hand and then bounced up and into his right jaw. He said he was able to throw with his right hand and that he took swings in the batting cage underneath the dugout in the 10th inning to stay warm in case he got a chance to hit. He had ice on the hand after the game.

Burger entered the game on Saturday with a hit in 10 of his last 11 games and a batting average of .368 with two home runs, three doubles and seven RBI in that span. It was a subset of a larger stretch in which he’s been one of the most productive players in the lineup. Burger finished the game 1-for-3 with two RBI and pushed his batting average to .249 with a .749 OPS.

In his previous 34 games he slashed .305/.385/.534 with six home runs, nine doubles, 23 RBI which boosted his batting average from .208 to nearly .250.