Rangers Have Opportunity Waiting for Them Beyond Cubs Series

The Texas Rangers simply just need to survive a little bit longer before reaching the light at the end of the tunnel.

Plenty of people are already calling the 2026 season a wash for the Rangers after their 17-20 start, and that’s totally understandable. The team has looked lackluster, with the offense appearing to be almost a complete carbon copy of last year’s disappointments.

Add in the fact that several pitchers — like Jack Leiter and MacKenzie Gore — haven’t performed up to snuff with preseason expectations, and the sky couldn’t be gloomier in Arlington.

But not all hope is lost.

It’s important to remember that the Rangers’ schedule to begin the year was extremely difficult, especially as of late. Texas played the Los Angeles Dodgers — the reigning two-time champions — in a three-game series and the New York Yankees, who have the best record in the American League, six times.

There are also other quality opponents like the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Athletics. This weekend’s series against the Chicago Cubs, who maintain the best record in the National League, may be the last bit of difficulty before the schedule opens up to a whole world of opportunity.

Schedule Ahead Presents Rangers With Hope

Not all of the Rangers’ shortcomings are due to the difficult slate of games, but hopefully some reprieve will arrive in the future after the Cubs leave Arlington.

As of May 8, the Rangers’ next 14 series opponents have a combined record of 191-205. Apart from three — the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and Cleveland Guardians — none are above .500.

Wow.

Long story short, this is a chance that the Rangers can’t pass up because stretches like these don’t come around very often.

So, who are the Rangers facing off against over the next two months? First will be the Cubs, who, as previously mentioned, are one of the best teams in baseball. If the Rangers can leave this series with just one win, that’d be a victory in and of itself. After that, however, the wins need to come in bunches.

A long road trip featuring series against the Houston Astros (15-23), Colorado Rockies (15-23) and Los Angeles Angels (15-23) awaits. Then the Rangers travel back to Arlington to play the Astros again for four games before battling the lowly Kansas City Royals (17-21). That concludes the month of May.

As the calendar turns to June, the opportunities continue with a road series against the Cardinals. Sure, the Cardinals are playing well at the moment, but it can be expected that they’ll cool down at some point in the near future. Matchups with the Guardians (20-19), Royals, Boston Red Sox (16-22), Minnesota Twins (16-22), Padres (22-15), Miami Marlins (17-21) and Toronto Blue Jays (16-21) round out June.

To make matters more enticing, most of these games are on the road. While that might sound like an inhibiting factor to the team’s success, the Rangers actually have hit better away from Globe Life Field than they have at home. If that trend continues throughout the next two months, then Texas could be entering the All-Star break on the right foot.

Of course, one must remember that the Rangers have been playing poorly. If they don’t find a way to supersede their opponents’ bad juju, then they too will be down in the dumps with the bottom dwellers once the All-Star break comes around.

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