LOS ANGELES -- Wyatt Langford didn’t get to enjoy his first home run of the season for very long.
The Rangers’ left fielder had entered Friday’s series opener against the Dodgers hitting just .160 with 13 strikeouts through 12 games. But in the top of the fifth inning, the 24-year-old lifted a Tyler Glasnow curveball into the Dodgers’ bullpen in left field. The ball traveled 365 feet per Statcast, just enough to get over the 360-foot wall and the outstretched glove of L.A. left fielder Teoscar Hernández.
The blast gave the Rangers a 4-2 lead behind what had been a solid first four innings from starter Kumar Rocker.
Then everything flipped. After a laborious fifth inning for Rocker and a one-two-three frame for Texas, both Rocker and Langford exited the game as the Dodgers came to bat in the sixth. The team announced right quad tightness for Langford, who had not shown visual signs of pain either during his home run trot or while fielding a Hyeseong Kim sac fly in the bottom of the fifth.
Langford has missed time in each of his two seasons in the big leagues, including three oblique-related IL stints last season. He played 134 games each in 2024 and ‘25.
The severity of Friday’s ailment is unclear. But one thing is certain: The 2023 fourth-overall pick is key to the Rangers’ success this season.