WEST SACRAMENTO -- There aren’t many constants in the Rangers lineups these days.
That’s what happens when a number of consistent contributors end up on the injured list and manager Bruce Bochy rolls out different platoon lineups every day. After all, it’s been the story of the last two weeks for the club.
The Rangers beat the A’s, 9-3, to secure the series on Saturday night at Sutter Health Park, extending their winning streak to four straight games.
There have been some unlikely heroes -- Michael Helman and Dylan Moore, anyone? -- but a pair of homegrown talents in Josh Jung and Wyatt Langford have done exactly what they’ve needed to do over the last week to keep the Rangers treading water in the AL Wild Card race.
“Honestly, just the next man up mentality,” Jung said. “You're seeing everybody getting an opportunity and making the most of it. That's all you can ask for. … Everybody's going out there, competing hard, and balls are finding holes. We’re running the bases hard and playing good defense. It's all just contagious. There's zero panic. It's just fun to be a part of right now.”
On Saturday, Jung logged his third straight three-hit game with two doubles and a single. Langford extended his career-high on-base streak to 19 games thanks to a 2-for-5 day with a single and a home run, his 20th of the season.
Even Adolis García notched his 15th multi-hit game of the season, and has hit in six of seven games since being activated from the 10-day injured list on Aug. 23.
“We need those guys,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “When you have some guys down, your core players, the rest of them, they need to pick it up. We need them to. That's where it's going to take.”
Langford, in his second big league season, scuffled for most of May and June before righting the ship into his most recent hot streak. The 23-year-old is batting .301 in his last 35 games, raising his season OPS up to .788.
He’s on time with the fastball, he’s adjusting to the offspeed and looks every bit like the All-Star caliber player the Rangers know he can be.
“You’ve heard me say it, hitting is just timing,” Bochy said. “He's got his [timing] down. Jung, García, they’re on time, too. That's what hitting is. Sometimes you get out of sync and you're late. That's what I see now. We're doing a good job of being on time.”
"Baseball is a roller coaster," Jung said.
He knows that maybe more than anybody on this Rangers team. A 2023 All-Star, Jung has been sent to Triple-A this season. He’s been benched. He’s been moved up and down the Rangers lineup.
But there have been stretches -- like this one -- where he’s looked like the All-Star version of himself. During this season-high seven-game hit streak, Jung is slashing .517/.533/.724.
“It’s baseball,” Jung reiterated. “I’ve made a couple adjustments. It feels good going up there [and] competing. I feel like I'm battling and hitting some pitches that normally I don't, and they're finding holes right now. That's all you need is to go up there and compete. I feel like I'm seeing the ball well right now, and I’m just trying to ride that wave.”
And the hope is that it’ll all be enough to get the Rangers to the postseason.
If Corey Seager (appendicitis), Marcus Semien (foot fracture) and Nathan Eovaldi (rotator cuff) are the veteran leaders of this team, Jung and Langford are clearly part of the young core that is supposed to be a major part of the club both in the present and in the future.
The long-term future is murky right now. But there’s 25 games left now for that young core to make something special happen for the 2025 Rangers.
“Obviously, it really sucks losing guys like that,” Langford said. “They’re not only really good players, but leaders for our team. But, it's baseball. It's part of the game. We just gotta go out there and play as hard as we can every day and good things will happen.”