ARLINGTON — Now, they slug.
Well, better late than never, we suppose.
If there is to be life for the Rangers in September, it must begin with a heartbeat by the mostly-maddening offense. For a week, at least, it has thumped like Frankenstein after a jolt of 20,000 watts. Maybe, Bruce Bochy can give a relieved “It’s alive!”
On Wednesday, the Rangers finished off a homestand that demanded excellence with a 20-3 drubbing of the Los Angeles Angels. It gave them a 5-1 record on the homestand and pushed them back over .500. It was the most runs scored by any team at Globe Life Field in the park’s six seasons and the most the Rangers have scored anywhere in 14 years.
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Each of the 12 players who appeared for the Rangers had at least one hit, matching a club record for most players with at least one hit, done once previously in 1986. The 22 hits were the team’s most in Globe Life Field, as well. Four of the hits were homers, the most the team built to slug has hit at home this year. And you know what was visible and even more rare than the offensive explosion: A bunch of smiles. The Rangers had a laugher and, for a change, actually laughed like they were enjoying it.
The score is displayed on a video board inside Globe Life Field after the Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.
Tony Gutierrez / AP
“That can do a lot for a team,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “You want them to smile, to have fun and success. They’ve been through a lot. We’ve had gut punches through tough losses and injuries, but you can’t stop enjoying the game, playing the game, having fun with it. You take the intensity out to the field, but you enjoy it. Play with passion, that’s what it is about.
“The last thing I want anybody to do is hang their head or act like that. We’ve talked about that and they haven’t done that. But to get to where we need to go, you’ve got to enjoy the ride. I think it was really important for these guys. It loosens them up. It allows them to play with the freedom and looseness that you need to have success.”
It was one of the most expansive answers Bochy has delivered post-game this season. Almost as if he was making a point.
Of course, it leads to the debate: What comes first, the runs or the laughs? Smile before success and you are labeled unserious; don’t smile when success arrives and you are dubbed morose. The Rangers just want to be consistent, which is something the offense has lacked all year.
Adolis García has often looked disappointed, Joc Pederson bewildered and the rest of the offense has just looked lost. But if there was one element of this homestand that seemed to drive the offensive resurgence, it was García, who returned from the IL over the weekend, and Pederson, who is putting together a strong August after a miserable start and two months on the IL.
The two of them helped the Rangers laugh early. García jumped on a sloppy first-inning sweeper from struggling starter Jack Kochanowicz for a three-run homer. An inning later, Pederson, who hit fifth directly behind García, hit his own three-run homer. Both of them had five RBIs for the night. So did Kyle Higashioka, who hit a three-run homer in the seventh after the first of two position players entered to pitch for the Angels. It’s the second time in franchise history the club had three players with five or more RBIs in a game. The other: 1996 when the Rangers beat Baltimore 26-7 in what was then the Ballpark in Arlington.
Garcia went 4 for 6 on the night and finished the homestand 9 for 20 (.450) with a .950 slugging percentage thanks to four extra-base hits. Pederson, who went 2 for 6, was 6 for 17 with a pair of homers on the homestand and is slashing .283/.348/.567/.915 in August.
“Baseball is supposed to be fun,” Pederson acknowledged. “You have a game like this, it loosens you up. It takes a lot of weight off your shoulders. We need to win as many of them as we can; we need to win them any way we can. But we’ve applied pressure and had good at-bats. Baseball can be contagious.”
It was almost impossible to find anything that didn’t make the Rangers smile Wednesday, but, hey, that’s what we’re here for. If there was any setback, it was that this win didn’t make a difference in the standings and with 27 games remaining, that may be all that matters. Every team ahead of them in the wild card race and in the AL West won. Treading water right now, as games disappear, may hurt as much as losing.
Now, the Rangers must go where they’ve been even more challenged this year: On the road. Where on the road doesn’t really matter, though, for the record, it’s to Sacramento and Phoenix. They are 26-40 away from Globe Life Field, the fourth-worst road record in the majors. The road has been a dreary spot for them.
But at least when they left this time it was with smiles on their faces.
Maybe you really can change your world with a smile. And 20 runs.
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