Rangers Plunder Pirates in Series Opener

Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

April 21, 2026

Rangers 5, Pirates 1

ARLINGTON, Texas (Apr 21) — The Texas Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5–1, in their series opener Tuesday night. A big RBI double by Ezequiel Duran in the fifth inning helped the Rangers keep the Pirates on the edge of the plank for the rest of the evening. It was a nice start to this long nine-game homestand. The Rangers will go for the series win Wednesday night with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Braxton Ashcraft (1–1, 2.38 ERA) will get the ball for the Pirates, while the Rangers will counter with righty Jack Leiter (1–1, 4.87 ERA).

Three-Run Fifth for Rangers

The Pirates struck immediately in the top of the first against right-hander Kumar Rocker. Oneil Cruz led off with a single to right and stole second moments later, his 10th stolen base of the year. He moved to third on a throwing error by Rangers catcher Danny Jansen. The damage happened quickly as Cruz scored on a single up the middle by Ryan O’Hearn.

The Rangers tied the game in the bottom of the second off right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski. Joc Pederson started the inning with a single to right. On deck was Josh Jung, who advanced Pederson to third with a sharp double to center. Up next was Evan Carter, who scored Pederson with a single to right. Two batters later, Jung scored courtesy of a sacrifice fly to right by Josh Smith.

Both teams traded zeroes until the bottom of the fifth. Smith led off the stanza with a double to right. Brandon Nimmo nudged him to third when he flied to center. On deck was Duran, who came in as a defensive replacement in left for Wyatt Langford, who was diagnosed with right forearm tightness in the top half of the inning. Duran drove in Smith with a double to left. That brought up Corey Seager, who plated Duran with a single to center. This prompted the Pirates to bring in reliever Wilber Dotel.

The first batter Dotel faced was Jake Burger. He moved Seager to second with an infield single bobbled by Pirates third baseman Nick Yorke. Moments later, Pederson drew a walk to load the bases. Jung followed by grounding into a 5–4 force play that enabled Seager to cross the plate.

What Went Right for the Rangers

There are times when you might see two or three runs driven in by one individual. That was not the case for the Rangers on Tuesday. Each of their five runs was driven in by five different men in their lineup. It is invaluable when you have that much effort coming out of your starting nine. This was a well-deserved win for the Rangers.

What Went Wrong for the Rangers

The Pirates caught the Rangers off guard in the top of the first. They were aggressive with the stolen base by Cruz and the RBI single by O’Hearn. The crowd of 23,910 was growing restless in a hurry, but the Rangers had them back on their feet by the later innings.

Rock Show

Rangers starter Kumar Rocker turned in his first quality start and received his first win of the season, bringing his record to 1–1 with an ERA of 3.48. He held the Pirates scoreless after allowing a run in the top of the first. His final line was 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R-ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 WP, 88 pitches/55 strikes. Following the back-to-back singles from Cruz and O’Hearn to lead off the game, the Pirates were 2-for-20 with five strikeouts against the right-hander.

Mlodzinski’s Evening

Pirates starter Carmen Mlodzinski made his fourth start of the season and was saddled with his first defeat. He now owns a 1-1 record with an ERA of 3.28. Mlodzinski allowed a career-high five runs, all earned, on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Tuesday signified the first team defeat in a Mlodzinski outing this season, as the Pirates had won each of his four prior appearances in 2026. He had his 13-inning scoreless streak snapped on Evan Carter’s RBI single in the second.

Tuesday marked the second-longest scoreless span of his career. Only a 14 1/3 inning run from July 19 to August 9, 2025 was longer. Mlodzinski landed only 11 of 21 first pitches for strikes (52.4%), his lowest mark in any start in ‘26. He did not allow a home run in this game, extending his homer-less streak to 71 2/3 consecutive innings – the longest active run in the majors (Elias).

Schumaker’s Postgame Comments

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker met with reporters after the game and discussed Rocker’s performance. “After that first inning, it was really good to see him settle in,” he said. “He put up five zeroes and his sinker was really good. His cutter was really effective, too, and his put-away pitch continues to be his slider. I thought it was really important for him to go six innings like he did tonight. When you look at the numbers, he really doesn’t have a lot of starts at this level, or professionally for that matter, and tonight he showed that he belongs up here.”

Rocker’s Postgame Comments

After Schumaker exited, Rocker took his seat in the interview room and reflected on the evening as well. “I got a lot of ground-ball outs tonight, so that really helped settle me in,” he remarked. “I really wouldn’t be in this position without the defense behind me so far. They’re doing a great job. It seems like I’m getting the best out of them with every pitch I deliver.”