ARLINGTON -- A win is a win.
But man, that one was harder than it needed to be.
Maybe it was just setting up Wyatt Langford for his triumphant return to the lineup. Langford, who was activated off the injured list on Thursday afternoon, hit a walk-off RBI single to stave off the Angels, 7-6, and secure a series victory over a division rival.
This marked Langford’s fourth career walk-off and first since a walk-off grand slam on Sept. 3, 2024 against the Yankees. It’s Texas’ third walk-off victory of the season.
“It's awesome,” Langford said. "I love to play baseball. That's why I do it -- to be able to be back out there and help the team win. Obviously, it was a tough game. We played really well. Then it was just one bad inning, really. Being able to come back and pull that out was super huge for the team.”
When Langford landed on the injured list on June 28 with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, both he and the Rangers were prepared for him to return well after the All-Star break.
With four games remaining, all against American League West opponents -- including a three-game set against the Astros -- the Rangers got a big boost to their lineup with Langford returning for Thursday's series finale against the Angels. He did not go on a rehab assignment, but he took live batting practice on Wednesday after additional scans showed a clean bill of health on the hamstring.
“There's a lot of credit to our training staff for getting him back in such a fast time,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “They put a lot of work in. You trust the player, trust the training staff, and the training staff did an amazing job with him. That last at-bat was crucial. Obviously, we don't win that game without Wyatt Langford, but there were great at-bats all day long. Having Wyatt back just makes our lineup different. [Josh Jung], too.”
The Rangers had a lead as large as five runs at one point, thanks to home runs from Brandon Nimmo, Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue, as well as a Foscue RBI double in the bottom of the sixth.
Texas co-ace Nathan Eovaldi was cruising for much of the evening with minimal stress outside of the third inning, when the Angels first got on the board. But he wasn’t able to record an out in the seventh inning, with runners reaching on a catcher's interference, a walk and a single to end his night.
In the end, the Angels sent 10 batters to the plate in the seventh, scoring five runs on four hits, two walks and an error.
Tyler Alexander, Jacob Latz and Cole Winn held the Angels scoreless in the eighth and ninth, setting Langford up for his first hit since his return: a long single to score Alejandro Osuna from second base.
“Right after that [seventh] inning, it’s not that it felt like everything was good,” Langford said. “We were pretty upset, but it's not like we were losing at any point. They tied it up, but we all had confidence that we're going to be able to come back. Obviously, we’ve got a really good bullpen. They can hold it down. There was never really a sense of worry. We knew we had a good chance of winning.”
Langford said he lobbied Schumaker and the staff to be activated this week, but Schumaker added that they wanted to make sure he was fully healthy before bringing him back into the starting lineup.
“We would never put his health in jeopardy based on where we're at,” Schumaker said. “If he didn't feel like he could go, he would not go. We would not have pushed him.”
Since going 7-3 on the last 10-game road trip, the Rangers lost three of the first five games of the homestand entering the day, while notably missing their three best hitters in Langford, Corey Seager (back) and Josh Jung (knee).
But Jung and Langford returned to the lineup on Thursday, while Seager is expected to remain sidelined until after the All-Star break.
“That was part of the reason why I wanted to get back -- these are games in the division,” Langford said. “But at the same time, we definitely want to be smart, because it's not worth it if you get hurt again. All of us want to be smart. We want to be out there every day, but just got to be smart about it. I'm definitely glad that I'm in there and they allowed me to be.”
After a slow start to the season, Langford has bounced back -- mostly thanks to a June in which he hit .317 with a 1.005 OPS following his first activation from the injured list.
Thursday’s win showed what a healthy Rangers lineup could look like, even before Langford’s walk-off knock.
“It would have been a really really challenging night if we didn't walk off right there,” Schumaker said. “The way that Evo pitched, putting up six runs against a really good pitcher that we struggled really bad against the previous start -- that would not have been a fun night [if we lost].
“Instead, it's amazing what a walk-off can do. The feeling is a 180. That changed a lot of different emotions postgame because of Wyatt's hit.”