3 key takeaways from the Rangers series against AL East leading Yankees

The Texas Rangers nine-game home stand wrapped up on Wednesday against the Yankees and there wasn't a whole lot to like about what we saw. Finishing 4-5 and kicking it off with a series win over Pittsburgh, it hinted at 2025 as the team struggled in several key areas.

In what turned into a low-scoring series, the Yankees exposed more of the Rangers' flaws and the futility at the plate was difficult to watch. The team didn't give the big Arlington crowds much of anything to cheer about, outside of the stellar hitting of Josh Jung and the work of aces Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi.

Winning the series finale will make things feel a tiny bit better, but they really need to get better soon as the schedule doesn't get any easier as they hit the road.

3 big takeaways from the Rangers-Yankees series

1. The Rangers are still struggle badly with runners in scoring position

Meet the new boss - same as the old boss. The Rangers can't seem to hit when it matters and have wasted plenty of quality starts by the starting staff. They had plenty of chances to get big hits and drive in runs that would have won games, but no one got the big hit that could shift the momentum in three close ballgames.

The Rangers managed to keep a good handle on outstanding slugger Aaron Judge, but it was the emerging Ben Rice who had the best set for the Bombers, going 4-for-12 with a home run.

The Yankees staff gifted the Rangers twelve walks in the series, and it wasn't until Josh Jung banged a single through the left side of the infield in the finale of the series that one of them scored to give the Rangers a 2-0 advantage for their first lead of the series.

2. Corey Seager and Jake Burger are suddenly lost at the plate

To be fair, the Yankees ran out two tough starters to begin the series in Max Fried and Cam Schlittler, but just when it seemed that the Rangers' best hitter was finding his rhythm with the bat, Seager went ice-cold and stranded six runners in scoring position. He went 1-for-12 with six strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Burger was also awful, going 1-for-11 and fanning four times. With him and Seager hitting in the third and fourth slots in the order, going a combined 2-for-23 against a team as formidable as the Yankees isn't going to cut it.

The Rangers have the worst batting average home/road splits in the entire league. They hit .251 on the road and just .217 at home. They also have 22 homers away from Globe Life Field and only seven at home.

3. Josh Jung should be an AL Player of the Month candidate

The heavily maligned third baseman for the Rangers continues to prove all the naysayers wrong with an absolutely scorching month of April. Jung finished the month hitting .400 with 11 doubles, four homers and 17 RBIs. He has raised his average from .095 to .317 in just 24 games played, and is the only consistent bat in the middle of the order right now.

He should get consideration for the AL Player of the Month but that honor will likely go to Yordan Alvarez, who is simply mashing so far this season.

Still, in the Yankee series, Jung went 4-for-10, but more importantly, he was the man who got the big hit to score two runs to salvage the final game of the series for Texas. He punctuated his best hitting month as a Ranger and should be viewed as at least a candidate for the recognition, finishing out the month with the best average in Major League Baseball.

The Rangers sit at 15-16 and will enjoy a day off on Thursday as they head to Detroit to face the Tigers, and then it's over to the Big Apple for three more with the Yankees.

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