ARLINGTON -- It was an unusually nice night in late May for North Texas. With clear skies at 75 degrees, the Rangers opted to open the roof at Globe Life Field for maybe the final time before the last homestand of the year.
The weather wasn’t the only thing that was unusually nice on Friday night, when the Rangers opened their three-game set against the Cardinals with an 11-1 win.
The Rangers offense exploded for 15 hits against St. Louis, finally providing run support for Texas’ electric rotation. They scored more runs in the second inning against Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore (4) than in the entire three-game series loss against the Blue Jays (3) earlier this week.
The most notable Rangers hits likely belonged to Marcus Semien, who provided quite the spark from the No. 8 spot in the lineup.
“That was awesome," said Jack Leiter after tossing 5 2/3 shutout innings. "Anytime you can see your offense put up runs quick and early, it's nothing but a confidence boost. And seeing a guy like Marcus, who hasn't changed all year, the stats maybe haven't gone his way so far, but for him to break out like that, it's awesome. He's obviously one of our leaders, whether he's doing well or not, and it’s cool to see that. Hopefully, more of it to come.”
Semien, who has spent most of the first three years of his Rangers tenure in the leadoff spot, has seen a steady decline in his position in the order this season. That’s where a .485 OPS gets you.
In Friday’s win, over the Cardinals, Semien collected a season-high four hits, one of which was a two-run home run in the seventh inning. It was his first extra-base hit since May 11 in Detroit (HR). He hasn’t had a four-hit game since May 7, 2024, in Oakland.
It was also his first multi-hit game since May 6 at Boston (2-for-5), ending a season-high-tying 21-game stretch without a multi-hit performance. His four-hit day raised his season batting average from .173 to .190, his highest since May 6.
“It's not about me,” Semien said. "We got a good win. Having four good at-bats and producing tonight to help us win, sure, it makes me feel better about myself, but this was a team win for sure.”
The Rangers' offense has perhaps been one of the most disappointing areas of baseball league-wide this season. And Semien isn’t the only Texas hitter struggling.
“I've seen a guy that's battling himself,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He's trying to figure it out, trying a lot of things. I see a guy that's working as hard as anybody. I think as a group, maybe, we’re overdoing it. Maybe it gets to a diminishing return factor. I think that's coming into play with some of these guys. There's a lot of thoughts going through their heads. We have a lot of hitting coaches. A lot of people are trying to help them out.”
A good offense is more than just one player. It’s about passing the baton and having good at-bats one through nine and everything in between.
But it goes without saying that when an All-Star second baseman is at his best, the Rangers follow suit.
“He's so important to this lineup,” Bochy said. “We've seen what Marcus can do when he gets on a roll. You're right. We talked about it. It's not gonna be one guy carrying this club, Marcus or Corey [Seager]. It's going to be everybody doing something, and that's what happened tonight.”
The Rangers’ 11 runs were the team’s second-highest total in 2025, trailing only its 15-run output against the Athletics on April 29. They collected a season-high five runs across the first two innings, marking the club’s most through two frames since Sept. 8, 2024, against the Angels.
The Rangers improved to 20-3 when scoring four or more runs this year, a stat that isn’t all that shocking when you consider the MLB-best 2.81 rotation ERA.
“Every day is a new day in the Major Leagues,” Semien said. “We’ll game plan for the next guy and try to execute as best we can and see what we come out with. If we capitalize on any pitcher's mistakes, we're going to be in a better spot. … I think [pressure], that's all outside noise. It weighs on us, it’s outside noise, at least to me. When we come in here and execute, do our job and do it well, we're a better team.”