Rangers' win over A's perfectly spotlights Texas' renewed offensive approach and why it's working

Texas Rangers' Jake Burger (21) is congratulated by Josh Jung, front left, after hitting a three-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Monday, April 13, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (Scott Marshall/AP)

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — There was a moment Monday, in this early-season battle of surprising co-leaders in the AL West, that encapsulated the difference between the last two Rangers seasons and what 2026 might be.

It did not involve Nathan Eovaldi, though he pitched seven shutout innings. Been there, seen that. It did involve Jake Burger, though it wasn’t either of his two homers that built the Rangers’ early lead in an 8-1 win over the don’t-say-Sacramento Athletics.

It was this: Burger took a pitch.

Stop the presses. But, please, allow us to explain. It came in the fifth, on the first pitch he saw after launching homers to left and to right field in his first two at-bats. If there was ever an urge for an attack-mode hitter like Burger to strike, this was it. But, the first two outs had come on three total pitches. There was the possibility for a short inning, which wouldn’t have even given Eovaldi time to catch his breath or script out his next inning as he likes to do.

The Rangers had talked about the effect of short innings on their own starting pitcher during the just-completed Dodgers series. The importance of occasional team-centric at-bats, a topic all spring, had been reemphasized. So, Burger took a cutter for a strike, then fought through an eight-pitch at-bat before an inning-ending ground out to third. It seems like such a small detail, but it speaks volumes about the difference in approach.

This Rangers team identifies issues early and presents solutions. More importantly: Players are listening.

“I think they’re slowing the game down,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “They’re understanding what it takes to make this thing go and have team wins. So, for a guy to have two home runs already, and then to do that just shows you the maturity of the player. Jake’s always been a team guy. That’s who he is. I’m sure trying to get three home runs, it’s on his mind after getting the second one, but for him to do that and have that quality team at-bat right there for Eovaldi, I mean, that goes a long way in the clubhouse.”

Said Burger: “I think we do a really good job after that conversation of grinding some at-bats, taking our time. You know, let’s see where we can get to. It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen all the time.”

But here’s the thing: In Monday’s win, which ran the Rangers to 4-0 in the AL West this season, it did seem to pay later dividends, too. Eovaldi worked three more innings and could have gone longer … had the Rangers not scored four runs in a long eighth inning full of more quality at-bats from the bottom half of the order.

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It put the game away and allowed the Rangers to bank some innings in reserve for Eovaldi, which is good since they may need him to go seven again this weekend in Seattle. It allowed the Rangers to bypass the high-leverage guys in the bullpen and give Luis Curvelo some more work. That is how you build successful road trips. And it continues to build momentum towards the Rangers believing their offense doesn’t shut its engines down early.

In the first four games of this road trip, the Rangers have scored nine runs in the seventh or later. They came from three down to tie the Dodgers in the ninth in the opener. They tacked on important runs in their win on Sunday.

It is a trait that was nearly non-existent in this team a year ago. The Rangers scored 176 runs after the seventh inning last year, 28th in the majors. Through 10 percent of the season, the Rangers are on pace to increase that by more than 25%, which makes a huge difference in close games. To that point, the Rangers were 34-44 in one- or two-run games last year. You get the picture. Had they been able to win a few more close games and last season might not have been such a bust.

“I think the message from our hitting guys on down since spring training has been that this is a nine-inning game,” Schumaker said. “We want to be in the fight for nine innings. And we want to be able to punch back. We have the lineup to do it. The energy in the dugout, the pulse of the dugout, has always been like: ‘We’re not done yet.’

“I know it’s only 16 games in, but, yeah, if we can keep that up, I love that mentality of all nine innings. We’re going to be in the fight.”

Sometimes that means bashing homers. Sometimes it means taking pitches. What it always means, though, is that every at-bat has purpose.