ARLINGTON -- The Rangers were riding a lot of momentum entering this three-game set against the Royals.
They had won three straight series and roared their way back to .500. Things, for all intents and purposes, seemed to be on an upward trajectory. That all came crashing down this week. The Rangers fell, 4-1, to the Royals in Thursday’s series finale as Kansas City completed a sweep at Globe Life Field.
It marked the club’s fourth winless series in 2025 and the first winless set at Globe Life Field since Sept. 4-6, 2023, against the Astros.
The Rangers were outscored 16-5 in the sweep against Kansas City.
“[We can’t really pinpoint the issue], not really,” said shortstop Corey Seager. “The other day, we got 11 hits and scored two or three runs. The last couple days, we had guys on and just couldn't get the big hit. We haven't seemed able to find that groove and get things to steamroll for us.”
Here are three observations from the Rangers’ sweep at the hands of the Royals this week:
Seager struggles
Seager went 0-for-5 in the loss on Wednesday before an 0-for-4 mark Thursday, extending his latest struggles. In 15 June games, Seager is hitting .137/.328/.176. He’s getting on base at an absurdly high clip considering his lack of hits, but it’s not the same Seager the Rangers have come to know over the last four years.
Seager is known for tinkering with his swing and his stance, as he’s done throughout the season. He said he just hasn’t liked the position he’s in lately and has been working hard to try to remedy the issues.
“We don't count on one player, but yeah, he's a key player in our success,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “That's fair to say. We’re talking about Corey Seager. I think for us to get to where we want to go, we need all our guys to do their thing, not just Corey. And Corey is going to be fine. Three weeks is not going to define who you are in this game. I don’t care how good you are, you’re going to go through your moments.
“I think he's just working hard to get to where he normally is. He's probably fighting a little bit like all hitters do. But Corey is so good at what he does, he's going to be relentless in trying to find it.”
Jacob Latz, a starter?
Jacob Latz has been a reliever for the entirety of his young big league career. He hasn’t been a full-time starter since early 2022. But on Thursday, he threw a career-high 5 2/3 innings on 82 pitches (53 strikes), which was the longest relief outing by a Ranger since José Ureña tossed 5 2/3 IP on Sept. 6, 2024, against the Angels.
The last time Latz pitched five-plus innings was with Triple-A Round Rock on April 16, 2022, when he had six innings of one-run ball against Sugar Land.
He's thrown 12 innings (four appearances) in the past 12 days, which he really hasn't done since he was a starter in 2022.
“I said this, I think he has the stuff where he could start, and certainly is an option,” Bochy said. “Today, you look at what he did and where he's at, as far as pitch count, [he] sure is an option. We're a little nicked up with the rotation. He gives you a pretty good option now, with what he's doing. I love the confidence. He’s got a good fastball, curveball, slider and throws the changeup for strikes. That works up here.”
State of the rotation
The Rangers have thrown three bullpen games over the last 10 days due to injuries to Nathan Eovaldi (triceps tightness) and Tyler Mahle (shoulder soreness), which landed them both on the injured list.
Jon Gray (wrist fracture) and Cody Bradford (elbow soreness) had already opened the season on the injured list. Some depth options in Emiliano Teodo (Rangers’ No. 4 prospect) and Winston Santos (No. 3) have struggled with injuries of their own in the Minor Leagues this season.
This week in Pittsburgh, the Rangers have Jacob deGrom, Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter pitching in the three-game set.
The Rangers have had one of the best rotations in baseball in 2025, but they’ll no doubt need more than four healthy starters for that to continue to be the case.