ARLINGTON, Texas — The defending World Series champions began their quest for a repeat by welcoming in the Chicago Cubs for MLB’s Opening Weekend. In many ways, they picked up where they left off.
The American League’s top offense from 2023 showcased the bats again throughout the opening series, while their pitching staff bent but did not break for much of the series. Meanwhile, the defense shined in several areas.
That is a microcosm of what to expect for the first half of 2024 and the blueprint for their first ever championship season.
- Game 1: Chicago 3, Texas 4 F/10 (W: Robertson, 1-0, L: Smyly, 0-1)
- Game 2: Chicago 2, Texas 11 (W: Bradford, 1-0, L: Hendricks, 0-1)
- Game 3: Chicago 9, Texas 5 (W: Neris, 1-0, L: Leclerc, 0-1)
The legend continues…
Adolis Garcia, who became a nationwide household name during the postseason, brought the thunder again to Globe Life Field. On Opening Day, El Bombi rocketed a no-doubter to left field to tie the game in a thrilling, eventual walk-off victory.
In Game 2, he decided he would display his opposite field power, which was prominent throughout the second half and playoffs. His two-run shot on Saturday put the Rangers on top for good with a blast not far from where his World Series Game 1 winner landed.
Garcia has homers in seven of the last 10 games that he’s played at home and both of the ones during the opening series were game-altering shots.
Late-inning scoring
In 2023, the high-powered Rangers, for all their offensive glory, scored just 29% of their total runs all year in the 7-9 innings. Conversely, in innings 4-6, they scored 39% of their runs.
If their goal was to improve on their run production in the later innings, they certainly did a good job of that over the opening series. Texas scored eight of their 20 runs after the seventh inning, including a raucous six runs in the eighth inning in Saturday’s blowout victory.
The kids are alright
One of the silly, surface-level critiques of the Rangers last season was that they purchased their championship, employing a Yankees- or Dodgers-like approach to winning instead of growing their own talent.
Despite having several valuable contributors such as Ezequiel Duran and Josh Smith with only a year or two of experience, third baseman Josh Jung was the only true rookie in the regular lineup last season until Evan Carter arrived in September.
Now, with Jung, Carter and Wyatt Langford, the Rangers have three regular players who have fewer than two years of service under their belts to complement their multi-million dollar middle infield.
Over the course of the series, the trio went 8-for-33 with seven walks, seven runs and six RBI.
Battling bullpen
After all the issues that the Rangers’ bullpen faced last season, they acquitted themselves relatively well over this three-game series until a hiccup in the last frame of the series.
Following Nathan Eovaldi’s six-inning, two-run performance in the opener, Josh Sborz, Kirby Yates and David Robertson logged scoreless appearances. Cody Bradford gave up two runs in five innings in his first start of the year and a combination of Sborz, Robertson, Yates and Brock Burke shut down the Cubs the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, Jose Urena and Yerry Rodriguez had excellent season debuts on Sunday in a tied game. It’s a glimmer of hope for a team whose relievers contributed fewer saved games than blown save opportunities in 2023.
Leclerc troubles
On the flip side, October stalwart Jose Leclerc had two rough outings in a row to start his 2024 season. The incumbent closer, who closed and saved all but one postseason game for the club in their run to the title, gave up five runs over two appearances during the weekend.
In the opener, Leclerc was victim of a dubious passed ball which broke the 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth before Texas rallied. However, on Sunday, Leclerc struggled mightily to find the strike zone, allowing three walks and four total runs after Jake Latz came in and allowed all three inherited runners to score after Chicago had taken a lead.
Leclerc is expected to be one of the most reliable arms in the Rangers’ bullpen, and while it’s only two appearances, Leclerc did go through several rough patches before settling down in time for October last year.
Walsh welcomed
Jared Walsh was on the Opening Day roster with Nathaniel Lowe out with an oblique injury. The 30-year old is three years removed from a 2021 All-Star campaign in which he hit .277/.340/.509 with 29 homers and 98 RBI for the Los Angeles Angels.
Following that season, Walsh encountered numerous health issues, including Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and several neurological setbacks before looking for a chance with the World Series champs.
In this series, Walsh flashed like the All-Star that he was several years ago, having a huge game on Saturday (3-for-5 with one homer, three runs scored and two RBI) and going 4-for-9 overall.
On deck for Texas
The Rangers next head out for their first road trip of the year, although for only a short stint away from Texas as they will face off against the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game rematch of last October’s Wild Card sweep by Texas.
Tampa Bay split a four-game wrap-around series with the Toronto Blue Jays and will send their powerhouse lineup to duel with the Rangers’ own sluggers.
What were your favorite moments from Opening Weekend? Share them with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
