WASHINGTON -- Marcus Semien would almost certainly like to not be having this conversation.
The Rangers’ second baseman and unofficial captain had a dreadful start to the 2025 season, his fourth in Arlington. From Opening Day through May 28 -- a span of 56 games -- Semien was slashing .173/.260/.224.
Over the last 10 days, Semien has looked more like himself. That included a 2-for-4 day in Sunday’s 4-2 win vs. the Nationals at Nationals Park.
The 34-year-old looks like he’s finally back to being himself at the plate. Over his last nine games, he’s slashed .517/.588/.931, with six extra-base hits (three homers), 10 runs and nine RBIs. He had just four extra-base hits in his first 223 plate appearances before this stretch.
“I just want to stay consistent,” Semien said after collecting a single, a double and a walk on Saturday. “Eventually, when we talk postgame, it'll just be ‘Good job,’ instead of ‘You were bad, and now you're good.’ I just want to continue to keep working hard to help us win.”
When asked what has changed in the last week or what he’s been searching for, Semien didn’t have much of an answer beyond continuing to tinker with his mechanics in the cage and working on getting better every day.
“I don't know [if I’ve been searching],” Semien said. “I don't know. I don't have an answer for that, I’ll just continue to work hard and show up every day. There's gonna be ups and downs. There were a lot of downs early and now, I’m having a better week.”
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy knows that, while an offense is more than just one player, it’s hard to overemphasize just how important Semien has been to the club over the last few years. His .485 OPS on May 28 wasn’t cutting it.
Over the last 10 days, he’s gotten back to doing what he does best: hitting fastballs and driving the ball to the pull side. Now, his OPS is up to .620.
“We don't want guys to get away from their strength,” Bochy said. “[Semien], he's got a quick bat. He does pull the ball a lot, and that's OK. That's what has served him well, and he's had a tremendous career. When your timing's off, it's hard to maybe do some things you normally do. He looks like he's got so much confidence up there now. He's seeing the ball well. He's taking walks. We wanted him to be who he is.”
Semien’s recent surge has coincided with the Rangers taking a series from the Cardinals last week at home and the series win in D.C. He even went 4-for-10 with a walk when the Rangers were swept in Tampa earlier this week.
In the nine-game span since May 30 (including Sunday) -- the start of the Cardinals series -- the Rangers have scored 36 runs. Semien alone has scored 10 of those. And in that same span, Texas hitters have tallied 35 RBIs; Semien has nine of those.
“The league's gonna mix it up,” Semien said. “When you have stretches like this where you get a lot of pitches to hit, you want to capitalize and adjust when you need to adjust. I just had a rough start there. I definitely just want to stay consistent with what's been working lately.”
In that same span, the next-closest hitter in terms of RBIs is Wyatt Langford (five) and for runs scored is Sam Haggerty (six).
That’s not much of a shock, considering the Rangers’ offense has struggled with run production all season long. Even as guys are heating up, others are cooling off.
If the offense, collectively, can figure things out, there’s no telling how good the Rangers can be down the stretch.
On Sunday, Texas improved to 23-4 when scoring four or more runs this season. That’s the second-best winning percentage in MLB when plating four or more runs (behind the Tigers).
“Our coaches have been extremely hard working for us, trying to get us back on track,” Semien said of the team’s collective offensive approach. “It's the hardest job in baseball, hitting coach. It's not always gonna be perfect on our side or their side, but we all show up with a good attitude every day.”