Jake Burger dedicates unique tribute to Pope Leo XIV

The Texas Rangers resumed their American League West rivalry with the Houston Astros on Thursday. Texas got one over their rivals with a shoutout win in the series opener.

The Rangers won 1-0 with the only run in the contest coming from first baseman Jake Burger. The offseason acquisition struck a solo home run off Astros ace Hunter Brown in the sixth inning to put his team ahead.

After rounding the bases, Jake Burger paid tribute to Pope Leo XIV with a unique celebration.

Expand Tweet

Pope Leo XIV's election to the papacy was announced on May 8 and it has created a buzz among baseball fans, who've been debating his fandom with the Chicago Cubs and the White Sox. However, with both teams claiming the new Pope as one of their own, his brother clarified that the Pope is a White Sox fan.

According to the latest report, Topps, a trading card company, sold a record number of baseball-themed cards of Pope Leo XIV.

"NEW RECORD: Pope Leo XIV has set an all-time record for any non-sports Topps Now card. 133,535 copies sold."

Expand Tweet

Jake Burger reflects on Rangers-Astros rivalry after home run heroics

Following the win, Jake Burger talked about getting a first taste of the rivalry at Globe Life Field on Thursday.

“Obviously, being on the other side and watching MLB Network in the clubhouse and whatnot, you see all the highlights from these series,” Burger said. “It’s just awesome to be a part of it.”

Burger's home run off Hunter Brown was the first homer conceded by the Astros ace in 50 2/3 innings this year. The Astros ace was involved in duel with two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom.

The Rangers ace went eight innings deep, allowing five hits with seven strikeouts and shutting down the Astros for a 1-0 win. The win improved Texas to 24-21 for the season, 1.5 games ahead of the Astros in third in the AL West.

The outcome of the series could see a positional change in the division with the Seattle Mariners 0.5 game ahead of the Rangers in first place.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

Know More

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash