After taking three of four games in their season-opening series, the Texas Rangers will hit the road for the first time in 2025 when they face the Cincinnati Reds on Monday evening.
The Rangers dropped the first game of the season on Thursday to the Boston Red Sox before winning the next three contests, including Sunday’s 3-2 victory in Arlington, Texas.
The Rangers have picked up speed despite nagging injuries piling up. Third baseman Josh Jung landed on the 10-day injured list with neck spasms.
Texas manager Bruce Bochy said Jung could be ready by April 7, the earliest day he could be activated.
“He probably will get three or four extra days where he could’ve been ready,” Bochy said. “But maybe that’s a good thing to get this thing cleared up. It is a recurring issue.”
Meanwhile, Bochy hopes utility player Josh Smith will be able to play Monday after exiting Saturday’s game with a quad contusion. He sustained that injury after crashing into the railing behind the third base line.
The Rangers have seen a quiet start at the top of the lineup for stars Marcus Semien and Corey Seager, who didn’t play in Sunday’s game. They are a combined 5-for-28 to start the season with one RBI, one run and six strikeouts.
Making his season debut for the Reds will be Brady Singer. The right-hander was acquired from Kansas City in an offseason trade that sent 2021 National League Rookie of the Year Jonathan India to the Royals.
Singer was brought in to add depth to the Cincinnati rotation after posting a 9-13 mark with a 3.71 ERA in 2024. His ERA was significantly better than what he produced in 2023: a career-high 5.52 effort.
Singer is 0-3 with a 5.18 ERA in five career starts against Texas, with two no-decisions in 2024.
The Rangers will counter with right-hander Kumar Rocker. The former Vanderbilt star pitcher and third overall pick in the 2022 MLB draft was 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA last year in three starts.
Rocker was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in five spring training games, allowing three home runs while striking out 20 in 13 innings. He will make his first career appearance against Cincinnati.
The Reds dropped two of three in their season-opening series against San Francisco.
Cincinnati had just five hits in their 6-3 loss Sunday, all coming after they were no-hit for the first five innings by Giants starter Robbie Ray. Cincinnati has 10 runs in its first three games.
Matt McLean homered in back-to-back games Saturday and Sunday and drove another ball into a stiff breeze in right field Sunday that was caught for an out. Elly De La Cruz suffered the same fate against Ray two at-bats later in the fourth inning.
Gavin Lux also drove a pair fly balls to the warning track Sunday in the loss.
“I thought we had some balls really (hit well),” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “McLean and Elly, I thought were home runs. Lux (flied) out about four times, and (Spencer) Steer hits a ball hard. There’s some good at-bats. And I know there wasn’t a ton to show for it, but there’s some pretty good at-bats.”
–Field Level Media
