Rangers Tweak Lineup Against Guardians After Batting Wyatt Langford Leadoff

The Texas Rangers have set their lineup for Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians and as expected it featured tweaks.

Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said Wyatt Langford wouldn't be batting leadoff for long — and he was right.

The Rangers released their lineup for Saturday's game with the Cleveland Guardians and Langford was not in the leadoff spot, which is where he batted on Friday night as he returned from the injured list. Designated hitter Joc Pederson was back in the leadoff spot, a place he's occupied in nearly every game since mid-May.

There are a few reasons for the lineup tweaks.

Rangers Lineup for June 6

Texas Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

DH Joc Pederson (L)

SS Corey Seager (L)

3B Josh Jung

RF Brandon Nimmo (L)

LF Wyatt Langford

2B Ezequiel Duran

1B Jake Burger

CF Evan Carter (L)

C Kyle Higashioka

The most significant reason is Cleveland is starting a right-hander on Saturday Tanner Bibee is on the hill and he is 0-7 with a 4.57 ERA this year. Texas has a couple of significant matchups it can exploit. Jake Burger has two home runs and three RBI off him in just two at-bats. Seager is batting .273 against him with two RBI in 11 at-bats.

Pederson returns to the top of the order because it has rejuvenated his bat. He’s been on a tear since moving into the leadoff spot in mid-May. In that spot he’s slashing .297/.392/.672 with six home runs and 15 RBI. It’s helped push his season slash back to .250/.362/.462 with eight home runs and 23 RBI.

He would get the DH at-bats with Bibee being a right-hander. But his presence at the top of the order seems to have had an impact on the entire lineup. The Rangers have won six of their last seven games.

On Friday Schumaker indicated that Brandon Nimmo would be the No. 4 hitter for the near future. That left the Rangers trying to figure out where to slot Langford if he’s not batting leadoff? Before his injury he was typically a No. 2 hitter. He moves to No. 5 on Saturday, with Seager batting second to put lefties back-to-back at the top.

Evan Carter returns to the starting lineup after he didn’t start against Cleveland on Friday as it started a left-handed pitcher. Carter is now mired in a deep slump against pitching from both sides of the plate and Schumaker said that he can’t start Carter against lefties right now. But, he is one of the game’s best defenders and, at least for Saturday’s game, the Rangers will take the gamble that Carter can emerge from his slump.