Langford's homer powers Rangers' win in Burger's return to Majors

ARLINGTON -- Whether it’s a smartphone, a computer or even a Major League Baseball player, sometimes a reset is necessary. For Rangers first baseman Jake Burger, that meant getting recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on Monday after spending 10 days clearing his cache in the Minors.

And for left fielder Wyatt Langford, it meant changing up his routine before the Rangers’ 2-1 victory over the Rockies on Monday night at Globe Life Field.

Langford took early batting practice before the game, then provided the only spark the Rangers needed with his two-run homer in the sixth inning off Rockies starter Chase Dollander.

“It definitely -- probably -- helped,” Langford said of his extra pregame work. “I just wanted to get a couple of swings in. I like hitting on the field, especially [against] a machine. No other reason.”

Entering Monday, there had only been 13 MLB games this season in which a team had three or fewer hits and still won. But the first of the Rangers’ three hits Monday -- Langford’s 412-foot homer to right-center -- was enough to take down a Colorado club that now sits at 7-34 on the season.

“We’re down 1-0, we weren’t doing much offensively, and he came through for us,” manager Bruce Bochy said.

Dollander was tough and struck out seven over six innings, limiting the Rangers to just a few scoring opportunities. Dollander notched five of those strikeouts in the first two innings, facing just one above the minimum through five frames. He walked Rangers catcher Tucker Barnhart to lead off the sixth, and after a fielder’s choice and a strikeout, Langford got to him.

“[Dollander] had a lot of life to his fastball -- he was on top of his game,” Bochy said. “He pitched a terrific game for them, he had good breaking balls going at times and he had that fastball, pitched up with it. You could tell, the first three innings, he was throwing the ball well and we had our hands full.”

The Rockies had their hands full, too, against Rangers starter Tyler Mahle, who lowered his ERA to 1.47, which is the second-lowest among qualified pitchers in MLB (Yankees’ Max Fried, 1.05). Mahle threw 6 1/3 innings, struck out five and allowed one earned run on four hits and a walk.

“I felt good,” Mahle said. “I was controlling the ball. I was working well with [catcher Tucker Barnhart] in our game plan against these guys, and we were able to execute.”

Mahle retired 13 of the final 16 batters he faced and has allowed two runs or fewer in nine consecutive starts to begin the season, a feat no other Rangers pitcher has ever accomplished.

Though Langford’s homer accounted for all the scoring, the Rangers notched two more hits after that, including a single by Burger, who also hit a 105.4 mph rocket to center field that Brenton Doyle snagged on a slick diving catch.

“[Burger] lengthens the lineup, another big bat in there, a guy who can do some damage ... it’s good to have him back,” Bochy said.

Burger got off to a slow start this season, posting a .561 OPS and a .190 batting average with only three homers in 100 at-bats before he was optioned to Round Rock on May 2. It was a remarkably difficult stretch for a player who hit 63 homers and slugged .488 combined in the previous two seasons with the White Sox and Marlins.

In a corresponding move for Burger, the Rangers optioned Blaine Crim to Round Rock. He was 0-for-11 with a walk in five games with Texas.

Burger went on a tear during his brief stint in Triple-A, batting .391 with a 1.157 OPS and two homers over 23 at-bats in six games. Now, it’s about translating that to the big leagues.

“It was a good reset,” Burger said prior to Monday’s game against the Rockies. “Obviously, you don’t want to be put in a position where you’re going to get optioned. For me, I obviously have to play better. I know that. It was getting back to who I am and being the player I know I am.”