Skip Schumaker's Rangers challenge could prove to be a dramatic turning point for the offense

After getting swept by the Minnesota Twins, the Texas Rangers had their best chance to bounce back with ace Jacob deGrom on the mound during his 38th birthday last night. And then the worst happened. The all-too-common first-inning bugaboo reared its ugly head. As Evan Grant perfectly stated, turn off the TV, the Rangers were about to roll over.

deGrom coughed up five runs in the top of the first. Texas has struggled to come back from much less ominous deficits. But then, San Diego Padres starter Randy Vasquez came out for the bottom of the first, and something miraculous happened. The Rangers scored. And then they scored again. And again.

The runs just kept coming. A trio of doubles from Brandon Nimmo, Alejandro Osuna, and Jake Burger plopped five runs up on the board. An Elias Diaz infield single chipped in one more before the inning was over.

All of a sudden, it was a brand new ball game with Texas leading 6-5 heading into the second inning. What got into the Rangers? Even an early two-run deficit had proven to be insurmountable for one of the league's worst offenses, as the team had been 0-15 when allowing more than one run in the first inning. Now, in the blink of an eye, they had become world beaters.

The outburst came on the heels of Skip Schumaker holding a meeting with his hitters, challenging them to respond when their teammates on the mound get punched in the mouth coming out of the gate.

"It was a much-needed win," Schumaker said, per Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News. "The comeback was what this team needed to show that they can do this and they're capable of doing this, especially when a crooked number is given up in the first, because that's going to happen again. I promise you there's going to be a couple runs given up again in the first inning. What are we going to do about it? How are we going to respond?"

The Rangers would scatter three more runs throughout the game and emerge victorious. They are now 1-15 when trailing by multiple runs after the first inning. Or, they're 1-0 since the pep talk. The question is, can they keep this up?

The Rangers' offense needs to prove their comeback fire is replicable, and they certainly have the pieces to do so

It's one thing to feel all fired up after an inspirational meeting, but the MLB season is a 162-game grind. They're not going to be flying high all the time, and Schumaker isn't always going to be able to play the role of cheerleader. The lineup is going to prove that they can consistently show up, even when they're tired, and things feel like a drag.

The good news is, you can see how they can do it. Wyatt Langford is coming alive, and they'll have Corey Seager back soon, and if those two can play up to their billing as stars, the team will have the necessary anchors in the lineup to create a formidable force.

Josh Jung and Ezequiel Duran have been two of the most well-rounded hitters in the league all season, and if Brandon Nimmo can pick it back up and join them as a jack-of-all-trades type of hitter, they could really start to cook.

There are two more ingredients missing to build a playoff-caliber offense, and in theory, the Rangers have those pieces in place, too. Joc Pederson and Jake Burger need to provide the requisite pop that their reputations as big boppers imply. From there, guys like Elias Diaz and Nicky Lopez, among others, can do the little things to get on base and keep the line moving.

But just because the ingredients are there doesn't mean that they'll all come together to create something wonderful. So, we'll wait and see if this becomes a trend or just a one-off lucky break. At the same time, now the ball is in the starting rotation's court. The difficulty level doesn't always need to be cranked to 11 after all.

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