Reds Sweep Rangers on Easter Sunday

It seems as if the Easter Bunny shortchanged the Texas Rangers' basket Sunday as they lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 1–0.

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

April 5, 2026

Reds 2, Rangers 1

ARLINGTON, Texas (Apr 5) — It seems as if the Easter Bunny shortchanged the Texas Rangers‘ basket Sunday as they lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 2–1. The Rangers were handed the sweep as they have stretched their losing streak to four straight games. RBI singles from Eugenio Suarez and Elly De La Cruz made the difference for the Reds in this contest. Now that this series is in the books, the Rangers will turn their attention to a three-game set against the Seattle Mariners beginning Monday with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Logan Gilbert will toe the slab for the Mariners, and righty Jacob deGrom will get the ball for the Rangers.

The Reds, meanwhile, will finish their current road trip with four against the Miami Marlins. That series will also begin Monday with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm Eastern at loanDepot Park. Lefty Brandon Williamson will take the mound for the Reds, while right-hander Janson Junk will get the ball for the Marlins.

Scoreless Through Three

Both teams traded zeroes for the first three stanzas. With righty Jack Leiter on the mound for the Rangers, De La Cruz led off the fourth with a sharp single to right.

After Sal Stewart lined to right, Suarez stepped in and scored De La Cruz with a single up the middle.

The Rangers tied things up in the bottom of the seventh off right-hander Chase Burns. Joc Pederson led off the inning with a much-needed solo homer, both for him and the Rangers, to right. The blast ended a very long 0-for-16 slump to begin the 2026 campaign.

The Reds regained the lead in the top of the eighth against reliever Robert Garcia. Matt McLain led off with a walk and swiped second, his first stolen base of the year. He scored moments later courtesy of a single to right by De La Cruz.

What Went Right for the Reds

The Reds put as much effort on defense as they did on offense Sunday. They allowed nine baserunners and stranded eight of them. It was a healthy combination of pitching and defense to go along with the two RBI singles by Suarez and De La Cruz.

What Went Wrong for the Reds

The only blemish in the Reds’ box score was the solo homer by Pederson in the bottom of the seventh.

Good Outing, Wrong Outcome for Leiter

Despite the tough luck, Rangers starter Jack Leiter had a nice afternoon. He had a final line of 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R-ER, 1 BB, 9 SO, 85 pitches/55 strikes that resulted in a no-decision. He came one strikeout shy of a career-high total Sunday. The lone run he allowed came on the seeing-eye single from Suárez in the top of the third. Leiter tallied one or more strikeouts in every inning, including two in the first, second, fourth, and fifth. Sunday marked the fifth time in his 37 career starts that he received no runs of support.

Garcia shouldered the loss after surrendering the RBI single to De La Cruz in his third of an inning in the eighth.

No-Decision for Burns

Reds starter Chase Burns made his second start of the season and did not factor into the decision, despite permitting one run over six or more innings. His line was 5 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 9 SO, 87 pitches/59 strikes. He allowed one runner to reach as far as third base.

After the Reds regained the lead, reliever Sam Moll earned his first win of the season after tossing a third of an inning with one strikeout.

Schumaker’s Postgame Comment:

After the game, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker reflected on the offensive struggles over the past three days. “We hit the ball pretty hard all series,” he said. “That’s baseball for you, though. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t. Obviously Joc’s (Pederson) home run was huge because when a player isn’t hitting, nobody feels worse about it than that player. That was a huge weight lifted off his shoulders, and hopefully he can keep that going.”