The rookie’s ninth-inning grand slam Tuesday was his third walk-off hit of the season, the most by a Rangers player since Josh Hamilton in 2011.
ARLINGTON — A manager with 2,159 career wins has seen some things over the years, but Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy might have never seen an offense that can be so maddening and so good within the same game.
Since the All-Star break, the 2024 Rangers have perfected the art of driving their coaches to the bottle, stinking up the place for the first six or seven innings of a game before pulling one out in the end. Or out of their ends.
It happened again Tuesday night, when Wyatt Langford swatted a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning for a 7-4 victory and made some history in the process. The Rangers trailed 4-1 after seven innings.
The win marked the Rangers’ third straight walk-off at home, with the first two Saturday and Sunday against the A’s. The Sunday win in the 10th might rate as the most improbable as Josh Jung hit a three-run homer against hard-throwing rookie Mason Miller.
The victim Tuesday was Clay Holmes, who had pitched Monday with a five-run lead and piled up a bunch of pitches. Langford got him for a ground-rule double.
On Tuesday, Langford hit the seventh pitch he saw and Holmes’ 25th pitch. He hit it hard, too, at 109.7 mph. A celebration followed, and Bochy was still unable to figure out how his team has repeatedly risen from life support to win.
“Ugh, tell me about it,” he said.
The Rangers are tied for the most walk-off wins in the majors this season with nine, seven of which have come since the All-Star break. On Sunday, they improved to an American Leage-best 9-2 in extra innings.
The 11th-hour surges haven’t been lost on the players.
“It’s hard to explain, really,” Langford said. “We put really good at-bats at the end of games against really good pitchers. I wish we could do it a little earlier to make it a little less stressful, but it’s really cool.”
Better than his record
Andrew Heaney wasn’t the winning pitcher at Globe Life Field. He also wasn’t the losing pitcher, which isn’t insignificant.
Heaney has 13 losses even though he’s done what he did Tuesday for most of the season, pitching well enough to keep the Rangers either in the lead or within striking distance for an offense that never seems to strike when he’s on the mound.
He allowed only three hits in five scoreless innings, but the bullpen couldn’t keep the 1-0 lead the Rangers held when he exited. Fortunately for his peace of mind, the Rangers rallied.
Typically, a pitcher with 13 losses has an ERA somewhere north of 5.00. Heaney’s ERA after his 27th start of the season is 3.81.
“Everything else has been good,” he said.
Yeah, he’s been good this season. The problem is the Rangers’ offense runs even colder when he pitches. Tuesday marked the 18th start this season in which he has received two runs of support or less, including seven in a row.
Only five pitchers in the American League have received worse run support.
“I just pitch,” Heaney said. “If I could go hit, I’d go hit. But I can’t do it, so I rely on the guys who are better at doing it.”
Heaney struck out eight Yankees, walked one and hit the last batter he faced, Juan Soto. The pitches had piled up like they normally do, so Heaney was removed in the sixth after his 86th pitch.
Jose Leclerc got the Rangers out of the sixth with the lead, but the Yankees scored twice against him and Andrew Chafin in the seventh and two more against Chafin and Grant Anderson in the eighth.
Gray’s future
Right-hander Jon Gray won’t pitch again this season after landing on the injured list with a nerve condition (neuroma) in his right foot. The discomfort had reached the point where he risked injuring his arm if he kept pitching.
The hope is that two or three weeks of rest will knock out the issue, otherwise he will need surgery. The injury woes continue for Gray, who has been on the IL multiple times during each of his three seasons with the Rangers.
He has one more year left on his contract, and $14 million for a No. 4 starter is a reasonable price. It’s probably too much for a high-leverage multi-innings reliever but might be OK for a closer.
Many in the organization believe Gray could close based on how well he has performed in a handful of relief outings this season and during the 2023 postseason. He said he has a rubber arm that could handle a reliever’s workload, but he also wants to be a starting pitcher.
If the Rangers can’t re-sign Nathan Eovaldi, assuming he chooses free agency, the Rangers will need a veteran starter. If their new TV deal doesn’t pay enough, maybe they try to save money by trading Gray.
All that’s known as of Tuesday is that he’s done for the season. So is right-hander Tyler Mahle, who is throwing but doesn’t have enough time to rehab after hitting the IL last month with shoulder stiffness.
Big day in minors
The latest Baseball America Top 100 prospects hit the internet Tuesday, and the Rangers landed four on the list.
The top-ranked Rangers prospect is right-hander Kumar Rocker at No. 30, followed by shortstop Sebastian Walcott (No. 52) and right-handers Alejandro Rosario (No. 86) and Emiliano Teodo (No. 97).
Baseball America, for whom I provide updates, has run hot and cold with the Rangers this year. The Rangers’ system was rated No. 3 before the season with outfielders Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford both top-10 prospects. At midseason, though, the Rangers had slipped to No. 24 in part because Carter and Langford lost prospect status.
Four top-1oo prospects might have changed the BA outlook on the system overall. BA has fallen for Rosario, whose promotion to Double A Frisco was announced Tuesday. He’s scheduled to start Friday.
As for tonight, Dane Dunning is scheduled to pitch for Triple A Round Rock, and left-hander Avery Weems is expected to make his second appearance of the season at High A Hickory. He hasn’t pitched since 2022 because of Tommy John surgery in 2023 and a finger injury this season.
Rocker is pitching Friday for Round Rock.
Doggy video!
He meant to do that. Enjoy.
Jeff Wilson, jwilson@alldlls.com
