They began it with Josh Jung on the bench. For a second straight day.

When the Rangers arrived in Kansas City on Sunday night, they knew how big of a week it was -- four games at Kauffman Stadium and then another three at home against the Guardians, two of the three tea

Despite the Rangers’ mediocre results, the pitching staff has been dominant all season, with a teamwide ERA of 3.45—the best in MLB. The team has multiple aces, notably Jacob deGrom, who has seemingly returned to his Cy Young-level form after missing most of the 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

On Tuesday, asked to pinch hit in a tie game against lefty Angel Zerpa, Jung fell into the same pattern. Swung at the first pitch from Zerpa, which was below the zone, then took two pitches to get ahead. And instead of looking at a 3-0 count, he swung over a 2-1 sinker at the bottom of the zone for a ground out.

The Texas Rangers face the Kansas City Royals in the second game of a 4-game set at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City Tuesday.

The Texas Rangers are going to skip Jacob deGrom's scheduled start this week because of shoulder fatigue, but the club said it is merely managing his workload and he is not expected to spend time on the injured list.

Even when a hitter gets hot, he can’t help the club. First baseman Jake Burger, who had a 1.097 OPS in August, was placed on the IL on Monday with a sprained left wrist. It is Burger’s third trip to the IL this season.