Reds Begin Crucial Easter Weekend Series in Texas vs Rangers

The Reds are 3-3 this season.

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) gestures after hitting solo home run in the fifth inning between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Saturday, March 28, 2026. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Coming off of a frustrating series loss at home to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cincinnati Reds begin their first road trip of the 2026 season facing the Texas Rangers. The Reds enter the series at 3-3 on the young season while the Rangers are 4-2 winning two of three from both of their first series against the Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles.

While the records are only a game apart, the teams performances lack a lot of similarity. The Reds as a team are batting .186 as a team while the Rangers as a team are hitting .255. The Rangers currently have three players in their lineup sporting an OPS over .900 as Brandon Nimmo comes into the series at .949, Star Shortstop Corey Seager comes in at 1.156, and first basemen Jake Burger sits at .985. On the Reds end, just Rookie standout Sal Stewart sits over .900 with a 1.562 OPS, though Elly De La Cruz sports a respectable .754.

On the pitching end, the Rangers staff sports a team ERA of 3.91, good for 14th overall in the Majors, while the Reds come in at 4.18, mainly due to shaky bullpen issues and bad starts to the season from Brandon Williamson vs the Pirates and Friday's starter Brady Singer's uneven start vs the Boston Red Sox.

The Reds look to begin to get their offense on track for the 2026 season this weekend, though the matchup has an uphill battle feel to it vs a really talented Rangers team. Here is how the series breaks down:

Game 1: Brady Singer (0-0, 6.75 ERA) faces McKenzie Gore (1-0, 3.38 ERA)

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Brady Singer (51) delivers a pitch in the fourth inning between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Saturday, March 28, 2026. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The current Rangers roster doesn't have a single batter with double-digit at bats in their career vs Singer, and no one has a homer in their limited plate appearances vs the Reds starter. As a matter of fact, anyone with more than 5 at bats vs Singer hasn't hit better than a .600 OPS led by Wyatt Langford.

As for the Reds vs Gore, nobody has more than 5 at bats vs the Rangers starter, but both Dane Myers and Tyler Stephenson each have a home run vs Texas's Game 1 starter. Elly De La Cruz (4 PA), Dane Myers (5 PA), and Nathaniel Lowe (2 PA) each sport an over 1.000 OPS vs Gore so hopefully the extremely small sample size leads to continued success.

Game 2: Rhett Lowder (0-0, 3.60) vs Kumar Rocker (2026 Debut)

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rhett Lowder (25) follows through on a pitch in the first inning of the MLB Interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, March 29, 2026. The game was scoreless after three innings. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If you're a fan of top prospect pitchers, then this is the game for you. Rhett Lowder and Kumar Rocker were both top 10 draft picks in their respective drafts as Rocker was taken 3rd overall by the Rangers in 2022 and Lowder was taken 7th overall in 2023. Rocker made one start vs the Reds in the 2025 season which was a 14-3 Reds win in early April where Rocker went just 3 innings giving up 6 runs on seven hits and two homers to Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain. Lowder is facing the Rangers for the first time in his career.

Game 3: Chase Burns (1-0, 0.00) vs Jack Leiter (1-0, 3.00 ERA)

Mar 30, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Chase Burns (26) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fourth inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Not only another battle of young phenoms, but two of the most exciting young pitchers will go head to head on Easter Sunday. Both starters had excellent debuts to their season when Burns threw 5 shutout innings vs the Pirates while Leiter threw 6 innings of 2 run baseball leading the Rangers to a win over the Orioles. Leiter pitched once vs the Reds last year in a 1-0 shutout over the Reds while Chase Burns is yet to face the Rangers in his career.

An early, exciting series for the Reds vs a worthy opponent, should be a great way to spend the holiday weekend.