‘It doesn’t sound that difficult, right?’ How the Rangers became latest defending champ to fall short of repeat
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Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff Writer
The Texas Rangers had a plan going into the season: Stay afloat during the first half until internal reinforcements arrived in the form of injured players such as Max Scherzer, Josh Jung and eventually Jacob deGrom.
Entering the final week of July, the defending World Series champions felt like they were executing that plan even if their record didn’t show it. The Rangers were starting to get healthy and were within striking distance of the division-leading Houston Astros in the AL West race. An opportunity to become MLB’s first repeat champions since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998 to 2000 still seemed like a possibility and the front office decided to go for it again despite rumors it might subtract at the deadline.
Instead, the team went backward. A 1-5 finish to July foreshadowed an August swoon that has dropped Texas’ playoff odds below 1% entering the final month.
“We are self-reflecting right now in terms of what we could have done differently to have more success this year,” Rangers GM Chris Young told ESPN recently. “Did we overachieve that much and were these players outperforming projected outcomes collectively in a magical year? That’s not how we felt.”
Whatever the reason, the Rangers have not been able to find the same touch that carried them through last season. Some of the reinforcements had come, but they didn’t make the difference Texas was counting on. Just over a month after returning from his back injury in late June, Scherzer went on the injured list for a shoulder ailment and hasn’t pitched since. DeGrom is still rehabbing in the minors. Jung returned on July 30, but he has posted just a .246/.250/.351 slash line since.
More than anything, the lineup that carried Texas to its first championship has been unable to find a spark. That has been the most disappointing aspect this season.
“Most of our struggles started offensively,” Young said candidly. “That was our identity last year, as an elite offensive unit. We’ve taken a major step back. I can’t deny that. There are several contributing factors, the first of which is just some underperformance, some regression from some players that played significant roles last year that we were hoping would perform at that same level. They’ve taken a step back.”
After finishing third in the majors in runs scored last regular season and averaging 5.7 runs per game during the postseason, the Rangers expected the lineup to be the team’s strength again this season. Instead, Texas has plummeted to 22nd in the majors in runs scored this season.
“We didn’t build our roster to have an elite pitching staff,” Young said. “We built it to have a very good pitching staff but not elite. We didn’t build around pitching and defense to say we’re going to win every low scoring game. We thought the elite aspect of our team was offense. Obviously, that is not the case this year.”
Besides Jung, who missed much of the season with a wrist injury, the team has watched several key hitters take a step in the wrong direction this season. Last year’s breakout star, Adolis Garcia, has seen his OPS plunge from .836 last year to .678 this season. Catcher Jonah Heim also dropped more than 100 points in that category. Before getting injured, 2023 rookie sensation Evan Carter was hitting .188. Even veteran Marcus Semien’s numbers have dipped as his 97 OPS+ is his lowest in a full season since 2018.
“Of course you come in with a lot of confidence coming off a World Series,” Garcia said through the team interpreter. “I always come in like I’m supposed to and do my best. I’m trying to give my teammates that spirit to win every day. It doesn’t always happen.”
The challenge of repeating
If there is anyone in today’s game who understands the difficulty of repeating, it’s Rangers manager Bruce Bochy. This is his fourth attempt after winning World Series titles with the San Francisco Giants in 2010, 2012 and 2014. It appears — barring a miraculous September — that he will go 0-for-4 without even making the postseason in any of those follow-up seasons.
“We tried to come out and be the hunter. I guess we got hunted,” Bochy said with a half-smirk. “The only common link I can give you is that guys don’t quite have the same years.”
From his four World Series titles, Bochy recited three common traits among teams that win it all — and noted they are especially needed when trying to win again: health, big years from your best players and some surprises.
“We didn’t hit on any of them,” Bochy stated candidly.
The Rangers have compiled the sixth-most days on the injured list this season, though that’s a bit skewed by deGrom, who has been on it all season. And Texas is getting another good season out of Seager, but he’s their only player with an OPS over .800.
While some regression might be expected after winning it all, several World Series-winning executives identified a surprising common trait that helped block their own repeat quests.
“It’s not the veterans,” one exec from a recent World Series champion said. “You would think it would be because playing seven months of baseball takes something out of you. But those stars know how to take care of themselves. Young players can feel like they’ve arrived when they haven’t quite yet.”
Young spent his offseason soaking up lessons like this from some of these executives who have been through the trials of the season after a title in hopes of avoiding becoming the latest World Series champion to fall off the next year.
“Whatever you just watched and whatever you just felt about your team that did something incredibly special, you can’t bottle that up and carry that over into next year,” Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer told Young in one of those conversations. “It will be a completely different vibe and clubhouse. It’s hard to imagine that given what you just watched.”
Some gave him the Pat Gillick strategy, named after the three-time World Series champion executive, who espoused turning over 20% of the roster every offseason just to shake things up. But with a team consisting of high-paid veterans under long-term contracts and a young core that Texas is counting on for years to come, the Rangers were built more to run it back than for a roster overhaul and went into the season excited for the opportunity.
“It just shows how hard it is to win it even once,” outfielder Travis Jankowski said. “It doesn’t sound that difficult, right? We did it once, let’s do it again.”
Then there is the “hangover” aspect for a champion. Managers hate the word, but reality can strike for a team after playing games with immense intensity at the end of the previous season. In the Rangers’ case, both September and October were full of drama. The next time they picked up a baseball in a competitive setting was in late March, hardly the time of year that gets your adrenaline going. It was a concern.
“I was worried once things settled down,” Bochy said. “With all the hoopla and the ring ceremony and stuff. Really, we played decent after that. It was later we started struggling scoring runs.”
Texas was 16-14 on May 1. The plan started out well before going south. Part of it was something the players could not feel until going through it.
“Yes,” Infielder Nathaniel Lowe said when asked if there was an inherent challenge to repeating. “Because it’s like you’re showing up expecting to win. But all 29 other teams know you were the previous winner. They want to come at you.”
Rangers senior adviser Dayton Moore concurred, drawing on his experience as GM of the Kansas City Royals when they went to the World Series in 2014, then won it all in 2015 — but then finished 81-81 in 2016.
“You’re certainly not sneaking up on anyone,” he said. “There’s more intensity to every game, every moment, in every game. Teams are gunning for you. That’s OK. Hopefully you recognize that as a team and you meet the intensity of your opponent.”
Bochy believes his team prepared well to defend its title, but like many times before — including for him — things just haven’t come together for the defending champions. Texas isn’t eliminated just yet but talk of return trips to the Fall Classic has been replaced with simply trying to finish strong and perhaps get back to .500.
“Our window was open,” Young said. “I take full responsibility and accountability for it. I stand by where we were at the deadline and the decisions we made and the chance we gave this team to get hot and go on a run. And it just didn’t come together.”
It seems such a short time ago that all 16 teams began the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs with a clean slate. On Tuesday night, two teams could have their postseason runs ended.
Can both teams stave off elimination to get another home game out of the 2025 postseason?
Meanwhile in the Western Conference, both series involving Pacific Division teams are tied 2-2 heading back to the higher seed’s domain. Which teams will take pivotal Games 5 in Vegas Golden Knights–Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings–Edmonton Oilers?
Read on for game previews with statistical insights from ESPN Research, recaps of what went down in Monday’s games, and the Three Stars of Monday Night from Arda Öcal.
Matchup notes
Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs
Game 5 (TOR leads 3-1) | 7 p.m. ET | ESPN
Games 2-4 marked the 11th time in the past 20 years that teams have gone to overtime three straight times in a playoff series.
Jake Sanderson‘s game-winning overtime goal was the first of his career, and he became the ninth defenseman age 22 or younger with an OT goal in the playoffs (and the first for the Senators).
Veteran David Perron scored his first playoff goal with the Senators, the fourth team with which he has scored a postseason goal (Blues, Golden Knights, Ducks).
Matthew Knies scored his sixth career playoff goal, which is tied for the fourth most by a Maple Leafs player age 22 or younger since 1976-77, behind Auston Matthews (12), Wendel Clark (11) and Russ Courtnall (8).
Toronto defensemen have scored five goals this postseason, the most by any team, a surprising outcome given that the Leafs had the fewest goals by defensemen in the regular season (21).
New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes
Game 5 (CAR leads 3-1) | 7:30 p.m. ET | TBS
The Devils have outscored the Hurricanes at 5-on-5 in the series (7-5), but trail on their own power plays (0-1), the Canes’ power plays (0-4) and when the net is empty (0-2).
Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen was knocked out of Game 4 following a collision with Devils forward Timo Meier. Meier has not scored on Andersen during this series, but scored on his first shot on goal against backup goalie Pyotr Kochetkov.
Andersen’s status is up in the air for Game 5, but he is the current leader among playoff goaltenders in goals-against average (1.59) this postseason, and is second among qualified goalies in save percentage (.936).
Andrei Svechnikov scored his second career playoff hat trick in Game 4. He has two for his career and is the only player in Hurricanes/Whalers franchise history to score a playoff hat trick.
Minnesota Wild at Vegas Golden Knights
Game 5 (series tied 2-2) | 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
Game 4 broke one streak and continued another. Ivan Barbashev‘s OT winner snapped a three-game losing streak for Vegas in playoff OT games, while the loss for Minnesota makes it five straight defeats in home playoff games that go to the extra session.
Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson made 42 saves in the loss, his second career playoff game with 40 or more. He is the only goaltender in franchise history with multiple 40-save games in the playoffs.
Kirill Kaprizov registered an assist in the Game 4 loss, giving him eight points in four games this postseason, one behind the leaders.
Vegas forward Tomas Hertl is on a heater. His goal in Game 4 is his third this postseason, and he has eight goals in his past nine games going back to March 22.
The Wild have been mostly effective at keeping Jack Eichel off the score sheet. He had one assist in Game 4, his first point of the series after a team-leading 94 points in the regular season.
Edmonton Oilers at Los Angeles Kings
Game 5 (series tied 2-2) | 10 p.m. ET | TBS
With his two-goal outing in Game 4, Evan Bouchard became the fourth defenseman in Stanley Cup playoff history to have back-to-back multigoal games, joining Rob Blake (2002), Al Iafrate (1993) and Denis Potvin (1981).
Leon Draisaitl — who scored the OT game winner in Game 4 — now has eight four-point games in his playoff career. That’s the fourth most in Oilers history, behind Wayne Gretzky (20), Mark Messier (10) and Jari Kurri (10).
Tied with Draisaitl for the playoff scoring lead is Kings winger Adrian Kempe, who is also tied for the goals lead with four. Kempe had 19 total points in 22 previous playoff games, all with the Kings.
Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper has been busy, facing 134 shots, which is the second most among postseason goaltenders (Gustavsson is first with 136). Kuemper’s current .881 save percentage is the second worst of his playoff career, narrowly ahead of the .879 he generated while backstopping the Wild for two games in the 2013 playoffs.
Arda’s three stars from Monday night
Johnston scored his first goal of the 2025 postseason nine seconds in, which is tied for the fifth fastest goal to start a game in Stanley Cup playoff history. He had himself a night, with two goals and an assist in the Stars’ win.
Rantanen scored his first postseason goal with the Stars against his old team. Rantanen became the seventh different player in NHL history to score a playoff goal against a team with which he previously tallied 100-plus postseason points. The others: Jaromir Jagr (2012 and 2008 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins), Brett Hull (2002, 2001, and 1999 vs. St. Louis Blues), Wayne Gretzky (1992, 1990, 1989 vs. Edmonton Oilers), Jari Kurri (1992 vs. Oilers), Paul Coffey (1992 vs. Oilers) and Bernie Geoffrion (1967 vs. Montreal Canadiens).
His postgame quotes keep getting better and better, to the point where he deserves a star for saying, “I’m sick of talking about hits” — then asking the media for their thoughts. Love it.
Monday’s scores
Florida Panthers 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 2
FLA leads 3-1 | Game 5 Wednesday
After an exciting, but scoreless, first period, the game heated up even more in the second. Anton Lundell opened the scoring for the Panthers, and Aaron Ekblad delivered a vicious hit to Tampa Bay’s Brandon Hagel; the call was not penalized on the ice, and Hagel would have to leave the game. Thereafter, the Lightning scored two goals within 11 seconds from Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak to take the lead well into the third period. But then in another span of 11 seconds, the Panthers pulled off the same feat, with goals by Ekblad and Seth Jones, sending the building into a frenzy. Carter Verhaeghe added an empty-netter for insurance. Full recap.
1:21
Panthers match Lightning with 2 goals in 11 seconds to take lead
Aaron Ekblad and Seth Jones score within 11 seconds of each other as the Panthers grab a late lead in the third period.
Dallas Stars 6, Colorado Avalanche 2
DAL leads 3-2 | Game 6 Thursday
As wild as the opening game was Monday night, this one looked to be going down the same road early. Dallas’ Wyatt Johnston scored nine seconds into the game, which is the fastest goal ever to start a playoff game in Stars franchise history. Fellow young Star Thomas Harley joined him on the scoresheet with 45 seconds left in the first. From there on, Dallas kept Colorado at arm’s length, with a second-period goal from Mikko Rantanen, another from Johnston and one from Mason Marchment, followed by an empty-netter from Roope Hintz to put an exclamation point on the proceedings. Artturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon scored in the second period, but that was not nearly enough on this night. Full recap.
0:34
Stars score in first 9 seconds of the game
Wyatt Johnston wastes no time as he finds the net within nine seconds of play for a Stars goal against the Avalanche.
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Greg Wyshynski
Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad will have a hearing Tuesday with the NHL Department of Player Safety for elbowing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel in the head in Game 4 of their series Monday night.
Hagel won’t play in Wednesday’s Game 5.
“He’s not playing tomorrow. And you know why,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper on Tuesday.
Ekblad’s hearing will be held remotely.
With less than nine minutes left in the second period of Florida’s 4-2 victory, Hagel played the puck out of the Tampa Bay zone near the boards. Ekblad skated in on him and delivered a hit with his right forearm that made contact with Hagel’s head, shoving Hagel down in the process. The back of Hagel’s head bounced off the ice. He was pulled from the game because of concussion concerns and didn’t return to the bench.
Ekblad wasn’t penalized for the hit and remained in the game. He would play a critical role in the Panthers’ late-game rally to take a 3-1 series lead, tying the game with 3:47 left in regulation before Florida defenseman Seth Jones scored the winner 11 seconds later.
Hagel returned to the Lightning lineup in Game 4 after serving a one-game suspension for interference on Florida captain Aleksander Barkov in Game 2. The NHL ruled that Barkov wasn’t eligible to be hit and that Hagel made head contact with him, which forced Barkov out of the game. Barkov returned to the Florida lineup for Game 3, which the Lightning won in Hagel’s absence.
“It’s getting tiresome answering questions about a hit every single game,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after the game before asking media members whether they had anything to say about Ekblad’s check, with no takers. “All right, let’s move on,” he said.
Ekblad missed the first two games of the playoffs after he was suspended 20 games without pay in March for violating the NHL and NHL Players’ Association’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
The Department of Player Safety did make a ruling on Florida defenseman Niko Mikkola, who received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for boarding Tampa Bay’s Zemgus Girgensons in Game 4. Mikkola was fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the NHL CBA, but escaped suspension.
Cooper said the physicality of “The Battle of Florida” shouldn’t come as a surprise
“Players are missing games because of it, whether it’s physically or by the league. So it’s going to be talked about. But if anybody’s followed Tampa and Florida over the last five or six years, this is kind of how these series are. This one is a little different because of the major things that have happened, but these are hard-fought series,” he said.
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