WEST SACRAMENTO -- For weeks, Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford searched in vain for something that would end a cold spell he called “probably the worst stretch of my career.”
He tinkered with his mechanics. He took double rounds of batting practice. Nothing seemed to work.
“Wyatt’s been fighting,” manager Skip Schumaker said.
The scuffling Rangers have been, too. And with Langford’s slump ending in Saturday’s 5-3 win over the Athletics at Sutter Health Park, maybe Texas is on the verge of a team-wide breakthrough as well.
At least, that’s what the Rangers -- squarely in the American League postseason mix -- have to hope for.
“We’re kind of in must-win territory,” Langford said. “We’re going out there and want to win every single day.”
On Saturday, the outfielder delivered the go-ahead home run, a two-run shot in the sixth inning, to help his club snap a four-game losing streak. It was Langford’s first homer since Aug. 1, and it was part of a three-hit night -- his first multihit game since July 25.
The Rangers’ first-round pick in the 2023 Draft has delivered solid production in 2026 despite two stints on the injured list, with a right forearm strain in April and a left hamstring strain in late June. He was scorching hot when he came off the IL for the second time in early July, but he suddenly went ice cold, batting just .155 (11-for-71) in his past 20 games.
Still, he batted cleanup on Saturday for just the second time all season, a decision driven not so much by data but more by a manager searching high and low for a spark.
“I was just trying to mix things up, I’ll be honest with you,” Schumaker said. “It worked out tonight, obviously.”
Langford ripped a 106.9 mph single to left field in his first at-bat before lining out his next time up. After Brandon Nimmo doubled and Corey Seager drove him in with a single to start the sixth, Langford drove a poorly located cutter from A’s starter J.T. Ginn a Statcast-projected 421 feet to left field, flipping his bat as he watched the baseball fly.
With another scorching single in the eighth, Langford became the first Rangers player this season with three base hits with an exit velocity of at least 105 mph in a single game. For a hitter who admitted he felt lost at the plate for an extended period, the performance was a welcome one.
“He’s such a hard worker, and you knew he was going to come through eventually,” Schumaker said. “Hard work equals good luck, and I felt like he was deserving of some good luck here soon.”
The Rangers skipper continues to express his belief that several cold Texas hitters are set to break out, and the club’s first two games in West Sacramento have somewhat backed that up.
While the Rangers managed just four hits in Friday’s series opener, Jake Burger’s game-tying three-run dinger in the sixth appeared to be pivotal before Texas faltered late en route to an 8-3 loss. Eight players combined to knock 11 hits for the Rangers on Saturday, including two for shortstop Corey Seager, who has impressed since returning from the injured list on July 31.
After Langford’s homer completed the comeback from an early 3-0 deficit, the Rangers added a pivotal insurance run on Jarred Kelenic’s pinch-hit single in the ninth -- his second RBI pinch hit of the week and a big hit for a team that hadn’t scored more than four runs since Sunday against the Orioles at Globe Life Field.
“Up and down the lineup, there were really good at-bats,” Schumaker said. “Much-needed offensive day. I know it was five runs, but we’ll take five runs. It was great, and good enough for a win.”
While the Rangers’ postseason hopes took a hit after four straight losses -- three to the Angels in Anaheim before Friday’s opener against the A’s -- Saturday’s win gave them a narrow half-game lead over the Blue Jays, Orioles and Tigers for the third American League Wild Card position. They remain in second place in the AL West, trailing the Astros by only two games, and they intend to end the regular season 38 games from now in a playoff spot one way or the other.
Doing so will take more big moments from a roster the Rangers believe is too talented not to succeed. On Saturday, Langford gave Texas exactly that.
“It just happened to be me today,” he said.