Texas Rangers fire offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker after extended struggles

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers have fired offensive coordinator Donnie Ecker after the team's extended struggles scoring runs.

The decision was announced after the Rangers won 8-1 on Sunday in their series finale against AL West-leading Seattle. Even with that outburst, the Rangers (17-18) were last in the American League with 113 runs.

Before the win over the Mariners, the Rangers had scored just 30 runs during a 2-9 stretch, and half of those came when they finished with a season-high 15 runs against Oakland on Tuesday. They opened the series against Seattle with losses of 13-1 and 2-1.

Chris Young, the team's president of baseball operations, said after lengthy discussions, it was “the appropriate time to provide our hitters with a new voice as we pursue goals of winning the division and reaching the postseason.”

The team said the structure of the club’s hitting staff would be addressed in the coming days.

The 39-year-old Ecker was in his fourth season as the club’s offensive coordinator after being hired on Nov. 1, 2021. He helped the Rangers win their only World Series title in 2023.

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