Rangers Monday Fastball: Time for Offense to Explode Like Sunday’s Victory

For the Texas Rangers, most of the 2026 season has led to offensive frustration. Breakouts have been few and far between.

On Sunday, the Rangers blew out the Houston Astros, 8-0. It came with a five-run inning that has been the exception this season. The Dallas Morning News’ Evan Grant pointed that out during the game on X (formerly Twitter).

Context: That's more runs in an inning than they had scored in 62% of their games. https://t.co/13Zbd3DWfX
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) May 17, 2026

Texas needs to bottle that inning out and spread it out over the rest of this road trip. After two awful offensive games, is that the inning that finally gets the offense back to more consistent production? Perhaps the inning itself tells Rangers fans something?

Here’s how the inning clocked out:

Joc Pederson walked.

Ezequiel Duran doubled, moved Pederson to third.

Alejandro Osuna hit by pitch to load the bases.

Jake Burger doubled, scored Pederson and Duran, Osuna to third.

Justin Foscue strikes out.

Kyle Higashioka singled, scoring Osuna and Burger.

Evan Carter grounded out to move Higashioka to second.

Brandon Nimm doubled, scored Higashioka.

Josh Jung flied out to end inning.

Burgers plates two more! #AllForTX pic.twitter.com/QgedKMH9fp
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) May 17, 2026

Aside from Osuna being hit by a pitch, this was a manufactured inning. Three doubles and a single, along with smart baserunning.

The days of waiting for the three-run home run are long gone for this franchise. Now it’s about passing the baton to the next guy and letting the next guy keep the inning moving. Texas did a great job of that in one inning on Sunday.

Now, the Rangers need to do it more often. Their season depends on it.

Three Notes That Matter

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager throws to first base — Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Josh Smith: The infielder was diagnosed with viral meningitis last week and was admitted to a hospital right as the Rangers started their series with the Astros. He’s expected to remain the hospital for a week. He was already on the injured list with a right glute strain and then developed left wrist inflammation during rehab.

What it Means: Smith won the second base job convincingly during spring training. But he’s lost it for the time being. Injury aside, he was slashing .217/.324/.239 before the glute strain. It will take him time to recover physically from the injuries but there is a likely weight loss when it comes to a illness like viral meningitis.

It means that Ezequiel Duran is the starting second baseman for the time being. Duran was at shortstop for the Astros series as Corey Seager was out. That allowed Justin Foscue to play three straight games at second base. Duran has been terrific and has the second-best batting average on the team.

Corey Seager: Seager missed all three games of the Astros series. Friday was a planned day off after he hadn’t had a hit in his last 27 at-bats. He missed the final two games due to back spasms. He underwent an MRI on Sunday to rule out anything more serious. Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports reported that Seager will meet with the team’s back specialist on Monday and won’t be in Colorado.

What it Means: Monday could be a big day for Seager when it comes to the injured list. The Rangers can’t go much longer without additional coverage in the middle infield. If Seager doesn’t play on Monday, pay attention to manager Skip Schumaker’s comments before and after the game for a clue to whether the left-handed slugger goes on the IL or not. Tuesday is the deadline to back-date the IL stint to Saturday, when the injury was first noted.

Cody Freeman: The infielder started his rehab assignment last week with the Rangers’ Arizona Complex League team. He didn’t get a hit in his first two games but did drive in two runs.

What it Means: Freeman missed most of spring training with a lumbar stress reaction and is only starting his build-up in the minors. He’ll need time to get ready for a potential return and he will likely have his rehab transferred to an affiliate soon. Chances are he won’t be ready to help Texas until sometime in June, at minimum.

Texas’ Inept Offense in Houston

7 scoreless for Big Game Nate 🫡 pic.twitter.com/zaWVcMNcBZ
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) May 17, 2026

The first two games of the Rangers’ series with the Houston Astros were brutal offensively. Just how bad? The Rangers’ game notes presented it in stark detail.

The Rangers scored one run in the first two games, even though Texas drew 12 walks. There were precious few hits to cash in. Texas had seven hits, all singled and were 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

For just the fifth time in the last 37 years, the Rangers got on base 20 or more times in a two-game span and only scored one run or fewer. The last time was in 2021. Interestingly, all five occurrences have happened since 2003.

Texas also went two straight games without an extra-base hit for the first time in nearly a year. The Rangers did it on May 27-28 of 2025. But it wasn’t the first time the Rangers scored one or fewer runs in a two-game span this season. It happened against Cincinnati on April 4-5.

What it Means: When the Rangers get into an offensive run, it’s bad. But this two-game stretch in Houston was as frustrating as one could imagine.

The AL West Race

Higgy hack for good measure! pic.twitter.com/kmvl8g8v83
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) May 17, 2026

(through May 17)

Athletics: 23-23

Rangers: 22-24 (1.0 GB)

Mariners: 22-25 (1.5 GB)

Astros: 19-29 (5.0 GB)

Angels 16-13 (7.5 GB)

What it Means: The division race is nowhere near done and one hot run by the Rangers would move them into first place.

Last Week’s Results

Monday: Arizona 1, Texas 0

Tuesday: Texas 7, Arizona 4

Wednesday: Texas 6, Arizona 5

Friday: Houston 2, Texas 0

Saturday: Houston 4, Texas 1

Sunday: Texas 8, Houston 0

This Week’s Games

Monday-Wednesday: at Colorado Rockies

Thursday: Off Day

Friday-Sunday: at Los Angeles Angels

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