For truly the time this season, Skip Schumaker made a few lineup tweaks this weekend against the Athletics but none more imperative than the lineup card he submitted in Sunday's series finale.
Entering the rubber match the top four in the lineup has been untouched for the most part but thanks to a injury to Wyatt Langford, and a couple of players fluctuations in offensive production, the 28-year-old Josh Jung found himself hitting cleanup.
Lineup alteration is team searching for any kind of answer
The reorganization first began on Thursday's series finale against Pittsburgh, situating Joc Pederson second in between Brandon Nimmo and Corey Seager. This was mostly Langford's spot but with his injury it had landed in the hands of Jake Burger moving up two spots.
The biggest news was Jung hitting fourth, a role that Burger occupied throughout the first 15-20 games of the year. That change was due to Jung's .300+ batting average which has ballooned to .375 in his last 15 games. Since April 12 he's hit 12 doubles, four home runs and 132 RBIs.
Josh Jung's 4th homer of the year is a go-ahead shot for the @Rangers 😤 pic.twitter.com/9MV7lcU3qW
— MLB (@MLB) April 26, 2026
It's been a careful re-examination of the lineup and riding the hot hand for Skip Schumaker as he searches for any kind of consistent offensive production. At 14-14, Texas sits 2nd in the AL West but have became less scary since their 20+ run six-game road trip to start the year.
Consistent offense around the lineup won't last all year but beyond Jung (.308) and Brandon Nimmo (.281), the best qualified hitter in the Rangers' lineup is Burger at .225. The counting numbers are decent with 28 HRs, 102 RBIs and 47 doubles, their .237 team average ranks 17th in MLB.
Lineups change throughout the course of a 162-game season, based on the injuries, who is hot, who is not. Schumaker is doing his due diligence in making sure he has an answer for everything. However, when important spots in a 1-9 are being altered, that's when the worry starts to set in.
At 3-3 in their current road trip, the Rangers welcome the Yankees to Globe Life Field to round out the three-team home stand. They have the pitcher's pedigree (you'd hope) to get them wins but can the offense manage to score enough runs to support them?