ARLINGTON – This is who the Rangers should have been all along.
Texas had a disappointing first half of 2025. That much isn’t a secret. But there has always been belief throughout the clubhouse and the front office that it would right the ship – that this ballclub could and would be exactly what everybody expected.
It took a while. Almost too long. But maybe the Rangers have finally arrived.
On Sunday afternoon, the Rangers completed a three-game sweep over the Braves with a brutal 8-1 mashing of the National League squad, extending their win streak to a season-high-tying six games. It’s Texas’ second straight sweep, the first time the club has accomplished consecutive sweeps since Aug. 1-6, 2023 (White Sox and Marlins).
“We said all along, we believe in this team,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “[Team president Chris Young] and I have said that we are a better team than what we were offensively. This is a talented club that can explode offensively, and we're starting to do it more often. You gotta keep believing in that sense, you have no choice.
“These guys didn’t get down. They haven't. I think it showed here in this homestand.”
With the win, the Rangers also matched their season-high mark of six games above .500, finishing the nine-game, 10-day homestand with an 8-1 record. The lone loss came against reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and the Tigers.
The Rangers’ rotation has been the rock all season, even as the club floundered below .500 in late May and into June. Texas’ starters have an MLB-best 3.13 ERA, including an MLB-best 1.63 ERA (nine earned runs in 49 2/3 innings) in the second half.
Rookie right-hander Jack Leiter collected his fifth career quality start in Sunday’s win, lowering his ERA to 4.09 this season.
“Obviously, this time of year is really important,” Leiter said. “I think the fact that we did what we did this homestand, it just shows a lot about the team and the guys and how much we want to win. I think that's kind of all anyone wants.
“It felt like we played really loose. Everything was kind of clicking a little bit, and hopefully we can just continue that, because it's a lot of fun.”
But the real turnaround has been the offense.
The Rangers dismissed offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker on May 5 and replaced him with Bret Boone, who had no coaching history prior. Through the end of June, the club was slashing .226/.293/.363 and ranked 29th in average, 29th in on-base percentage and 28th in slugging.
It seemed like nothing could go right on the offensive end.
But when the calendar flipped to July, the offense turned a corner. This month, the Rangers have slashed .252/.327/.428, putting them at 12th in the Majors in average, fourth in on-base percentage and ninth in slugging.
Through June 30, the Rangers ranked 25th in runs scored (314). In July, they’re second in runs scored (123). From top to bottom, it has looked like a rejuvenated offense.
“It's such a long season; you're not going to be your best the whole 162,” said utilityman Josh Smith, who homered. “Even though we weren't playing great, we still kind of kept ourselves in it, playing right at .500 or just below .500 until we got hot.
“We did a good job. Pitching helped us out a lot, and lately, we've been swinging the bats better. Guys are getting healthy, so hopefully, we're geared up for a run.”
The Rangers knew coming out of the All-Star break that they would have to play good baseball to prove that this was a team worth investing in come Thursday’s Trade Deadline.
In these past 10 days, they’ve accomplished that and more. The Rangers were a season-high 11 games back of the first-place Astros in the AL West on July 7. On July 27, they sit just four games back of Houston and are tied with the Mariners for the third AL Wild Card spot.
“Winning is really fun,” Leiter said. “This was a great homestand. We had a good finish to the second half in Houston. The whole year, there's never been panic on our side, I don't think. Everybody's got each other's backs, and there's a lot of good guys in the clubhouse. The vibes get better when we start winning more games. And we've been able to do that.”