Back-to-back road series wins filled with a whole lot of fun for Rangers

BALTIMORE -- Midway through Spring Training, Danny Jansen walked in the Rangers’ clubhouse in Surprise, Ariz., wearing a shirt that said: “I just hope Brandon Nimmo is having fun.”

An hour later, Nimmo strolled through wearing a corresponding “I just hope Danny Jansen is having fun” shirt. Jansen said a fan sent them those shirts, each with their own name on it, and the two decided to swap. It would be fun.

Fun.

That appeared to be the word of the week for Texas as it wrapped up its eight-day, six-game road trip to Philadelphia and Baltimore to kick off the 2026 season.

Though the Rangers couldn’t finish off a sweep of the Orioles on Wednesday afternoon, falling 8-3 in the finale at Camden Yards, they were able to take the first two series of the season before returning to Arlington for the home opener on Friday.

“We won two series on the road against two really good teams,” manager Skip Schumaker said postgame. “I would have signed up for that at the beginning of the year in Spring Training. So overall, just a really good series and road trip, and we’re looking forward to getting home.”

Yes, Wednesday wasn’t as fun as the previous four-game win streak that Texas was riding before the finale. But it’s also just the second time in Rangers history (since 1972) that the club has won back-to-back road series to open a season (also ‘92).

For Schumaker, opening the season on the road is the perfect way to begin a new year.

“With the first road trip, everyone's excited about getting together for the first time outside of Spring Training,” Schumaker said. “Everybody's finally in a smaller group setting, and the guys get together and talk baseball and learn about each other. It's just a different feel from Spring Training. I've always enjoyed the first road trip of the season as a player because of that. There is something to it. It's nice when you win also, but those bonding experiences last longer at night. I think that’s really important.”

Whatever they’re doing is working on the field, too.

From a lasso double celebration to real offensive production from newcomers like Nimmo (.949 OPS), Andrew McCutchen (1.253 OPS) and Jansen (.823 OPS), the vibe around this Rangers team is palpably different and energized.

“It’s just this lineup, up and down,” Jansen said. “It’s guys that have played the game forever, like Cutch and [Jacob] deGrom, and also the younger guys and everybody in between. We all blend together. It’s messing around with each other but also being professional and getting ready for a game. It’s just been fun. It’s a really good mix.”

deGrom -- who started Tuesday night’s win -- said an old pitching coach of his, Dan Warthen, would always say the most important thing every day was to have fun. And sure, that sounds silly for a group of professional athletes. But that’s been a core part of what’s made this first week so successful for the Rangers.

“That’s the goal,” deGrom said after Tuesday’s win. “Skip's done a great job of managing this thing so far, and the guys have been having a good time. It’s, what, 162 games. You have to show up every day and get ready to play, but you also have to have fun playing. That's why you play this game. So we have to continue doing that and rooting for each other.”

And sure, it’s only a six-game sample. But winning is fun. There’s no getting around that.

“To start the season on the road like we have is impressive,” Schumaker said. “These guys have come in ready to play. It's been -- again, I keep saying it -- but it's fun to watch. And when we're scoring like we’ve been scoring, it's fun.”