Unlikely hero Helman's 1st career grand slam lifts Rangers

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers’ revolving door of unexpected heroes goes round and round each day before landing on that night’s ultimate winner.

Michael Helman, come to center stage for your close-up.

On Monday night, the Rangers’ 29-year-old rookie stepped up to the plate to face Brewers starter Jose Quintana in the fifth inning with the bases loaded for the first time in his young career. And Helman delivered.

Helman launched a Statcast-projected 381-foot grand slam over the left-field wall, collecting the Rangers’ first grand slam of the season and the first of his career. He, alone, carried Texas to a 5-0 win over the Brewers to open a three-game set at Globe Life Field.

He became the ninth Texas rookie since 2000 to slug a grand slam, joining a list that also includes teammates Josh Jung, Adolis García and Wyatt Langford.

“I knew when I got to the plate what my job was going to be -- I had to get something that I could hit in the air and try to get a sac fly,” Helman said. “Luckily enough, I got something better than that. It happened to go out of the park. …

“My heart was definitely pounding, that's for sure. I just took a step back and said a quick prayer and just let it loose.”

Quintana took a perfect game into that fated fifth inning. Then, a dropped foul pop led to a Jake Burger walk, a Kyle Higashioka double and a Jonah Heim walk of his own to set up Helman’s big moment against the team with the best record in baseball.

Helman said he didn’t even know where the ball was going. He just heard the crowd of 20,791 fans “go nuts” before realizing it dropped beyond the wall.

“It was a good little build up there,” said starting pitcher Jacob Latz, who tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings in the win. “We started to get guys on base, and you could feel the tension rising. It was just a good example of the way this season has been going. We kept fighting. We're really close at times. We get maybe a couple of bad breaks, but no one shows it. Helman came through [tonight]. It’s a pretty special night for him.”

Two innings later, Helman padded his stats with an RBI double in the right-center-field gap to score Heim from first. He collected a career-high five RBIs in the win.

Helman accounted for all five runs in the victory, becoming just the second player in club history (since 1972) with five RBIs in a 5-0 win (also Josh Jung on Sept. 27, 2022 at the Mariners).

With names like Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Nathan Eovaldi, Evan Carter and García on the injured list, the Rangers (75-70) have a fleet of rookies and underdogs contributing to the team’s postseason chase.

“I can't think of a club that's had to call on so many young guys to help,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “I mean, with the number of injuries that we have, it’s so important to have depth. To acquire [Helman] during the season, obviously, that was very, very big for us. But really, everybody. They've all done some really good things to help us. We’ve needed it. With what we're dealing with, it’s good to see how this group has come together and just keep playing good baseball.”

Helman may be one of the more unexpected heroes in a group of unexpected heroes. He was selected by the Twins in the 11th round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Texas A&M and made his MLB debut for Minnesota on Sept. 3, 2024. But since being traded to the Cardinals for cash shortly before Spring Training, he’s gone through waivers multiple times before the Rangers claimed him on May 19.

Now, he’s found himself right in the middle of a postseason push, with the Rangers remaining 1 1/2 games back of the Mariners for the final AL Wild Card berth after both clubs won Monday.

“I promise you, I would have never expected this,” Helman said. “Yeah, it's definitely cool to be in this moment, being able to help out this team. It's great. Like I said, I'm just trying to stay in the moment and help us win ballgames. It's been a long year, that's for sure. But it's, this is a great organization, and we're going to make a nice push.”