Langford and Heim have 4 hits each as Rangers rout Rays 13-2 for 3-game sweep

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This article was published 07/07/2024 (811 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Wyatt Langford and Jonah Heim matched career highs with four hits, Corey Seager had a three-run homer and the Texas Rangers batted around twice in a 13-2 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday that finished a three-game sweep.

Texas matched its season high with 19 hits, sending nine batters to the plate in both the fourth and fifth innings.

“You look at what Wyatt did. Jonah. We had some big days,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “It was good to see them break out.”

Nathan Eovaldi (6-3) allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings, improving to 5-0 with a 1.99 ERA and a .166 opponents’ batting average in 10 starts at home.

“I thought I had really good fastball command,” Eovaldi said. “Usually if I have pretty good fastball command, I have a really good day.”

Defending World Series champion Texas has won eight of its last 10 home games and is 24-21 at Globe Life Field but 18-27 on the road.

Tampa Bay was swept in a three-game series for the first time this season, getting outscored 20-5 after winning its previous five series. The Rays allowed season highs in runs and hits on Sunday.

“That’s not going to be enough,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said of his team’s offense over the weekend. “Their pitchers did a good job, but I’d like to think we can have some better at-bats and find ways to score runs.”

Langford had an RBI double in the first inning, singled to start a six-run fourth and three-run fifth, then singled again in the eighth. The 22-year-old rookie hit cleanup for the second time this season with Texas’ regular No. 4 hitter, Adolis García, given what Bochy called a mental day amid a 2-for-18 slide.

Heim homered, doubled and had two singles with two RBIs.

Travis Jankowski had two hits and three RBIs. He had a swinging bunt up the first base line in the fifth that hugged the chalk and stayed fair and drove in two runs.

Pinch-hitter Robbie Grossman had a solo homer in the seventh against Colin Poche.

José Caballero hit a two-run homer in the third, Tampa Bay got a three-run homer from Yandy Díaz in Saturday’s 4-3 loss.

Zack Littell (3-6) allowed seven runs and nine hits in four innings. Shawn Armstrong, the first of four Rays relievers, gave up the three runs and five hits in the fifth.

The Rays’ Randy Arozarena went 0 for 3, ending his on-base streak at 19 games. His final at-bat was a foul fly down the right-field line in the seventh inning. Jankowski settled under the ball but a fan in a Shin-Soo Choo jersey wearing a glove reached over the railing above the high wall and made a backhand catch. Umpires conferenced and Arozarena was called out by first base umpire Mike Muchlinski for fan interference. During a video review requested by the Rays, the fan held up a sign that read: “Home cooking.” The call was upheld and the game resumed after a 3-minute delay.

“If he’s camped, I totally understand it,” Cash said. “If he’s running pretty full tilt … but Jankowski certainly acted like he was unhappy the ball didn’t go in his glove. So, maybe he would have caught it.”

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Rays RHP Ryan Pepiot (4-5, 4.40 ERA), with one win since April, will face New York Yankees LHP Carlos Rodón (9-6, 4.45) on Tuesday night to begin a six-game homestand.

Rangers RHP Jon Gray (3-4, 3.92), 0-2 in seven road starts, will open a six-game trip on Monday night against Los Angeles Angels rookie RHP Davis Daniel (1-1, 2.70), who will make his third big league start.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb