This disturbing trend continues to haunt Rangers starting staff

The Rangers have handled a difficult opening stretch well, going 14-13 while taking on some of the league's best teams and a road-heavy first month. The starting staff has been a big part of it, even as Nathan Eovaldi and Jack Leiter continue to find their footing on the mound.

Still, there is a concerning trend that is becoming all too frequent through 26 games in 2026. The Rangers' starting staff has allowed eleven first-inning home runs this season, five more than any other team in baseball. Several of those have been to the leadoff hitter, and some have been on the very first pitch. It is putting the team in an early hole, like on Friday when Eovaldi gave up three dingers against the Athletics in the first frame en route to an 8-1 loss.

Nick Kurtz, Carlos Cortes and Tyler Soderstrom all went deep before the 25,000 fans could even sit after the national anthem. Kurtz hammered Eovaldi's first offering 417 feet deep into the right field stands.

The Rangers have given up the most first-inning and leadoff homers in the league

Eovaldi's abysmal first inning of Friday's start continues the Rangers' early-season trend of falling behind early, before the fans have even gotten to their seats. Jacob deGrom and the other Rangers starters have also been susceptible to the quick strike to begin games,

Sometimes, the offense bails them out, and other times it doesn't. Either way, spotting the opponent, particularly a high-powered offense like the A's, to an early advantage is not a trend that Skip Schumaker and fans want to see continue.

It can be psychologically defeating for the whole team to be behind before even getting a chance to hit

Being behind before you even get to bat on a consistent basis can be demoralizing for an offense. Especially for the Rangers, who are better than last year at the plate so far, but still middle of the pack in producing runs.

Corey Seager looks to be finding his rhythm, Jake Burger has been a consistent run producer, and last year's punching bags, Josh Jung and Joc Pederson, are turning things around big-time early on.

They need to see a few more zeros on the board in the first inning to give them a psychological edge and boost heading to the dugout for their first at-bat. Sometimes, you can lose games in the first inning just as easily as the last.

We know these starters have the stuff, but whatever mental block or lack of concentration they have going early in games is becoming a concerning trend that needs to end soon.

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