Mahle threw seven scoreless innings in Sunday's 1-0 loss to the Dodgers, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out four. Mahle continued his sensational start to the year with his third scoreless outing of at least five innings. He ended his dominant performance with a strikeout of Miguel Rojas to strand a runner at second. Mahle's been one of the early surprises in baseball after being limited to just eight starts over the last two seasons due to injury. He leads with majors with a 0.68 ERA through five starts and will take the mound again on the road versus the Giants next weekend.
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Mahle threw seven scoreless innings in Sunday's 1-0 loss to the Dodgers, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out four. Mahle continued his sensational start to the year with his third scoreless outing of at least five innings. He ended his dominant performance with a strikeout of Miguel Rojas to strand a runner at second. Mahle's been one of the early surprises in baseball after being limited to just eight starts over the last two seasons due to injury. He leads with majors with a 0.68 ERA through five starts and will take the mound again on the road versus the Giants next weekend.
Langford went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Sunday's loss to the Dodgers. Returning from the IL due to an oblique injury, Langford worked a walk to lead off the second inning and stole a base in the frame. He was also called out in an attempted steal to end the game. Langford now has three steals in 13 games and was showing some early pop before his injury with four homers.
Pederson was held out of the starting lineup against a right-hander Sunday against the Dodgers. The hot-hitting Josh Smith filled in at designated hitter against a right-hander, which has been Pederson's role. Unfortunately for Pederson, a season-opening slump (3-for-55, .055) may cost him some starts in the short term.
Smith started at designated hitter against a right-hander and went 3-for-4 in Sunday's 1-0 loss to the Dodgers. Smith replaced a struggling Joc Pederson, who's batting just .055 (3-for-55). The season-opening slump may eventually cost Pederson his job as the DH against righties. Smith is hitting too well -- he's up to .378 following Sunday's loss -- to ignore and could gain a greater share of starts at DH going forward.
Leiter (finger) will make a rehab start with Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports. Leiter landed on the injured list April 4 due to a blister on his right middle finger and is eligible for activation, but he'll get in at least one rehab outing before rejoining the Rangers' rotation. The right-hander started the season strongly before the blister popped up, as he allowed just one earned run and posted a 10:1 K:BB over 10 innings across his first two starts, each of which resulted in a win. If Leiter's rehab start Tuesday goes well, he could be back in the major-league rotation as soon as next Sunday against San Francisco, per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News.
The Rangers optioned Duran to Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports. Texas needed to clear a spot on the 26-man roster for the return of Wyatt Langford (oblique), and Duran was the recipient of a demotion. The 26-year-old has been unable to get going offensively this season, as he's 0-for-14 with four strikeouts so far. The Rangers will look for Duran to get his bat on track with Round Rock.
Langford (oblique) was activated from the injured list Sunday, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports. Langford said Saturday that he expected to be activated Sunday, and that has indeed come to pass following a final evaluation in the morning. He was originally left out of Texas' lineup, but he's now slated to start in left field and bat fifth. In a corresponding move, Ezequiel Duran was sent down to Triple-A.
Pederson batted fifth in the order and went 0-for-2 in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Dodgers. Pederson had consistently batted third to begin the 2025 campaign, but his season-opening slump finally prompted manager Bruce Bochy to move him down in the order, with Josh Smith taking over the third spot Saturday. Pederson is now 2-for-55 (.055) to start the season and could be in danger of more than being dropped in the order. Bochy might be tempted to give the hot-hitting Smith (.341), a super-utility player without a permanent home in the everyday lineup, more opportunities at DH ahead of Pederson.
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