ARLINGTON -- The 1996 Texas Rangers were honored before Saturday’s game for the 30th anniversary of the first playoff team in franchise history.
Players, coaches, staff and executives from that team -- which won the American League West -- were present for a pregame ceremony before Rangers 1996 Pitcher of the Year Ken Hill threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez.
The 2026 Rangers are in a postseason push of their own. But they are in a much more precarious position than their counterparts three decades ago.
The Rangers desperately need every win they can get at this point. And they fell flat on Saturday, ultimately losing, 3-0, against the Angels at Globe Life Field.
“We're just not hitting,” outfielder Wyatt Langford said. “That's pretty much it. At the end of the day, we’re just not doing what we need to be doing. … We're trying to win. We're trying to get hits. Maybe a little too much. We're all maybe trying to do it ourselves. It's collective.”
The Rangers had no hits through the first five innings against Angels starter Ryan Johnson. Their first hit of the evening was a leadoff single from Cody Freeman in the sixth inning. He was stranded at second by the end of the frame, and it would be Texas’ only hit of the night and only runner in scoring position.
Texas had just five total baserunners in the loss -- Freeman's hit, three walks and Jake Burger reaching via hit-by-pitch in the third. Burger exited the game in the fifth with a left wrist contusion.
“There are plenty of guys up and down that should have been able to put up some runs,” said manager Skip Schumaker. “We just have some guys that, you know, aren't feeling great at the plate right now, collectively. You hope that collectively you get hot soon, because we're going to need to if we want to give ourselves a chance to play in October. There's a bunch of pros in there that have been there before. It's not lack of care or trying, but we gotta start producing here soon.”
Saturday was the Rangers’ AL-high third time being held to one or zero hits this season. They were shut out for the 10th time, which ranks fourth in the AL.
Texas has been shut out twice in its last four games and three times in its last nine after suffering just one shutout in its previous 32 games from July 5-Aug. 12. This is the club’s second shutout at the hands of the Angels this month.
To further illustrate the offensive regression, the Rangers have also scored two or fewer runs in four straight games, as well as five of their last six and eight of their last 12.
“I've said it before, it's not lack of effort or lack of work,” Schumaker said. “It's just been a lack of execution right now. And they know it. You know they know where we're at in the season. So yeah, they'll get back to work tomorrow and try to win the series the best we can.”
Schumaker shied away from saying his hitters were pressing, while also noting that they’re doing everything possible to right the ship.
“They're trying to do different things to attack the day differently, because they know they don't feel great,” he said. “Whether it's different work on the field, like there was today, or different stuff inside the cages, or different types of game plans in the meeting. There's guys that are swinging more. There's guys that are swinging less. Nothing has clicked this month so far.”
Despite their 64-66 record, the Rangers remained in postseason position, as they hold the final Wild Card spot in the American League, while sitting one game back of the Astros (65-65) in the AL West.
Everything is right in front of them, if they find the ability to grab hold of it.
“We're going day by day, and we have a chance to win the series tomorrow,” Freeman said. “I think we're more focused on that. We’re playing it day by day, series by series, and we’ll get this playoff push going.”