Wyatt Langford saved the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.
With the bases loaded and a full count in the bottom of the ninth inning, the rookie outfielder drilled a ball into the second deck of left field for a walk-off grand slam to stun the New York Yankees and give the Rangers the 7-4 win. Naturally, that sparked a celebration at Globe Life Field.
The home run, hit off closer Clay Holmes, was Langford’s 10th of the season, and his second in as many days after he hit a two-run shot in Texas’ 8-4 loss to the Yankees on Monday. Langford entered Tuesday’s game with a .243 batting average. He now has 63 RBI to go with his 11 home runs.
The Yankees jumped up 4-1 on Tuesday night, thanks in part to a two-RBI single from Anthony Volpe in the eighth. But Josh Jung — who hit a solo home run in the fourth — hit an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning before Nathaniel Lowe added another run after he hit a sac fly to center field. That set up Langford’s final home run to lift the Rangers to the three-run win.
The Rangers now hold a 66-73 record after the win, which marked their sixth in their past eight games. They still sit third in the AL West, and are 8.5 games out of the final wild-card spot.
Aaron Judge matches season-long home run drought
While it’s still in single digits, Yankees star Aaron Judge matched his longest stretch without a home run this season on Tuesday night.
Judge has gone eight games without hitting a home run, something he did in April and in July. That’s a long time for MLB’s home run leader who is attempting to rack up another 60-home run season. Judge had one hit and scored a run in the loss on Tuesday. He struck out twice and flied out twice.
Judge entered Monday night with a .326 batting average and 51 home runs this season. He hit both his 50th and 51st home run against the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 25, which gave him his third 50 home-run season of his career. Judge last had 50 home runs in a season in 2022, when he set the single-season American League home run record with 62. He won the AL MVP award that summer.
The Yankees dropped to 80-59 on the season with the loss, which was their fifth in their past seven games. They trail the Baltimore Orioles by half a game in the AL East race.