Rangers Lineup vs. Yankees: Texas Facing Elmer Rodriguez Again

Maybe the Texas Rangers just need a day of in New York. Maybe that will help a flagging offense.

The Rangers (16-18) are facing the New York Yankees for the second time this season, a three-game set that starts on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, a place where the Rangers have lost 20 of their last 27 games. They haven’t won a series there since 2017. New York (24-11) is the best team in the American League, though the Tampa Bay Rays are right behind them in the AL East.

New York caught fire in a home series against the Kansas City Royals on April 17. Since then, the Yankees are 14-2, with three series sweeps and two series wins. That included a four-game sweep of the Orioles on Monday.  

Texas has been treading .500 since April 4, when it dropped to 4-4 after a loss to Cincinnati. The Rangers have been at .500 nine times since then and enters the New York series having lost six of their last nine games since April 24, the start of a three-game series with the AL West-leading Athletics.

Texas is still a better hitting team on the road with a slash of .248/.326/.408. But, in Detroit the offense was stymied aside from its 5-4 win in Friday’s opener. Texas was outscored 12-2 in the final two games of the series. Dating back to a three-game road series in Seattle that started on April 17, the Rangers have been outscored 33-17 in their last six road games.

Texas will start Jacob deGrom on Tuesday. He allowed four earned runs in five April starts. So the Rangers’ offense must step up. With a day off after Sunday’s loss to Detroit, Texas should go with its most consistent lineup as they open the series.

Rangers Lineup on May 5