Rangers Trounce Cardinals in Series Finale

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

June 1, 2025

Rangers 8, Cardinals 1

ARLINGTON, Texas (June 1) — The Texas Rangers ignited an offensive explosion Sunday afternoon when they beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 8–1, thus winning the three-game series. One player that stood out in this contest was Josh Smith, who had a home run and an RBI double to his credit. With this series in the rearview mirror, the Rangers will embark on a long nine-game road trip starting with three against the Tampa Bay Rays. The opener of that series will get underway Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 7:35 pm Eastern at George M. Steinbrenner Field. It will be a duel of righties as Tyler Mahle (5–2, 1.64 ERA) will take the hill for the Rangers, while Drew Rasmussen (4–4, 2.33 ERA) will get the ball for the Rays.

As for the Cardinals, they will head home to begin a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals. The opener of that set will also start on Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 6:45 pm Central at Busch Stadium. Right-hander Michael Lorenzen (3–6, 4.33 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Royals, and righty Andre Pallante (4–3, 4.23 ERA) will take the hill for the Cardinals.

Smith Delivers

The Cardinals got on the board quickly in the top of the first with Jacob deGrom on the mound. He opened the frame by walking Lars Nootbaar. There was a brief delay shortly after as the Rangers training staff attended to deGrom. They saw something different in his delivery they deemed concerning, but not that serious, as deGrom stayed in the game.

Two batters later, Nootbaar scored on a single to right by Willson Contreras.

The Rangers answered back in the bottom of the second against Cardinals righty Erick Fedde. With two outs in the frame, Marcus Semien stepped in and lined a single to left. He swiped second moments later for his fifth stolen base of the season.

Sam Haggerty followed by drawing a walk.

On deck was Smith, who scored Semien and Haggerty with a double to left.

The Rangers added a welcomed insurance run in the bottom of the seventh off Cardinals reliever Kyle Leahy.

Jonah Heim led off with a sharp single to center. Semien followed with a walk, moving Heim to second. Sam Haggerty moved both runners up a station with a single back to the mound that was out of the reach of Leahy.

Moments later, Heim was tagged out at home on a 3–2 force play grounded into by Smith. On deck was Wyatt Langford, who drove in Semien with a sacrifice fly to center.

Rangers Add On

The Rangers extended their lead in the bottom of the eighth. Josh Jung opened the frame with an infield single that was too much for Nolan Arenado at third. Up next was Alejandro Osuna, who grounded into a fielder’s choice started by Cardinals catcher and former Ranger Yohel Pozo. Jung advanced to second on a throwing error by Pozo.

Jake Burger drove in Jung with a double to left.

This brought Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol out of the dugout to bring in reliever Roddery Munoz.

Osuna scored on the next play thanks to a sacrifice fly to center by Heim.

A wild pitch from Munoz to Semien nudged Burger to third right before Semien drew a walk. Burger crossed the plate thanks to a sacrifice bunt back to Munoz by Sam Haggerty.

On deck was Smith, who belted a two-run shot to right, his fifth of the year.

What Went Right for the Rangers

The Rangers had a little bit of everything in this game. They had timely hitting, plenty of scoring chances, and great pitching. As mentioned, Smith had a great day, but there were contributions from several others.

What Went Wrong for the Rangers

The only hiccup the Rangers had came in the first inning on the RBI single by Contreras.

Another Great Start for deGrom

Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom turned in his fifth quality start and earned his fifth win of the season, improving to 5–2 with an ERA of 2.34. His line on the afternoon was 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R-ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 81 pitches/52 strikes, matching Tyler Mahle for the team lead in victories. deGrom allowed three of the first five hitters to reach, but settled in thereafter, allowing four baserunners the rest of the way.

He worked around a pair of singles in the third, inducing a 4–6–3 inning-ending double-play grounder from Brendan Donovan. deGrom held the Cardinals hitless over his final three frames and issued three walks in the outing, one shy of his season high. He has allowed two or fewer runs in nine straight starts since April 18 and he has a 1.81 ERA during that span. deGrom lowered his season ERA from 4.30 to 2.34 over that span, which ranks 8th in the AL at the conclusion of Sunday’s game.

Fedde’s Afternoon

Cardinals starter Erick Fedde was saddled with the loss in this one, despite registering his sixth quality start of the season. He now owns a record of 3–5 with a 3.82 ERA. His line on the day was 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R-ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 93 pitches/54 strikes. With his six innings, Fedde reached 600 career innings pitched. He has now completed five or more frames in 10 consecutive starts, the second-longest streak of his career.

Bochy’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy gave his thoughts on the day and the series. “It’s great to get a series win,” he said. “We lost the first series, and I thought winning two out of three here was big for us right before we head out on this long road trip.”

Bochy also spoke of the mound visit to deGrom in the first inning. “He was fine,” Bochy said. “We saw something different in his motion, and we really just wanted to make sure he was alright. It was a mental mistake more than anything else.”