ARLINGTON -- In baseball speak, Rangers center fielder Wyatt Langford is what they call "locked in."
He’s confident, comfortable, and at ease at the plate. And, he said, he’s seeing the ball well.
That’s clear to see.
Langford capped a big series with a three-run home run that Statcast projected at 403 feet, and Josh Jung knocked in the go-ahead tally in the Rangers’ 4-3 victory Sunday over the Padres at Globe Life Field.
Those two incited the Rangers’ order, going a combined 4-for-7 with a walk, four RBIs and a run scored from the Nos. 1 and 2 spots as Texas took two of three from San Diego.
Langford went 7-for-13 with seven RBIs in the series, while Jung was 6-for-12 with four runs scored. Over his past nine games, Langford has been on fire, hitting .432 with four home runs and 11 RBIs.
“He’s back,” Texas manager Skip Schumaker said. “He's hitting them far, too. Those are not just wall-scrapers. He is a difference-maker in the lineup to what we envisioned coming into this season. And when Corey [Seager] gets back … I mean, those two guys are some of the best in the league.”
Nathan Eovaldi (7-7, 4.24 ERA) earned the victory for Texas, which moved to 37-40. The Rangers remained two games back of first-place Seattle in the AL West.
Eovaldi gave up three runs on seven hits over six innings, striking out nine. He was scheduled to start Saturday, but was pushed back a day because of soreness in his left knee.
Jakob Junis earned his fifth save, though he had to put out a fire he started in the ninth. After giving up singles to pinch-hitter Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts, he struck out Ty France, induced a flyout to left against Sung-Mun Song and got Rodolfo Durán to ground into a forceout to end the game.
Schumaker termed Eovaldi “50-50” on whether he would start Sunday.
“I saw him in the weight room this morning early on and he gave me, like, a ‘I’m good,’” Schumaker said. “That was good enough for me.”
Eovaldi was plenty good Sunday, save for a hiccup in the fourth. Up 3-0 on Langford’s home run, Eovaldi couldn’t protect the lead, giving up six hits in the frame.
Jackson Merrill doubled to start the inning and later scored on Gavin Sheets' RBI single. Xander Bogaerts added an RBI single of his own, and Song capped the rally with a game-tying double to right, knotting the score at 3-3.
It could have been worse. Sheets tried to also score on Bogaerts’ base hit, but was cut down at the plate on a relay from Langford to Ezequiel Duran to catcher Kyle Higashioka.
“I had a really good feel for the splitter,” said Eovaldi, who added that he had no idea why his knee acted up the day before. “I loved the action on it. It's what I've been searching for. I thought [Higashioka] did a great job back there behind the plate. It’s frustrating on that fourth [inning]. I let them right back into it. I feel like I just have to be better in that situation, make [Manny] Machado and Bogaerts beat me away instead of challenging them inside.
“But we were able to answer right back in the fourth, and I was able to settle in after that and throw up some more zeros.”
Higashioka walked to start the Rangers’ third, and Nicky Lopez reached on a bunt single. Langford hit Lucas Giolito’s first offering past the left-field foul pole with an exit velocity of 105.4 mph.
In the Rangers’ fourth, Lopez singled with one out and moved to third on Langford's base hit before Jung lined an RBI single to left, scoring Lopez and putting Texas back in front, 4-3.
Peyton Gray, Robby Ahlstrom and Junis stalled the San Diego bats, working three scoreless innings in relief of Eovaldi.
Five of Langford’s six home runs have come since being activated from the IL on June 5. Over his past 21 games, he’s hitting .345 with five doubles and 13 RBIs.
“Things are going right,” said Langford, 24. “I just feel pretty good up there. Confident, seeing the ball well. Just trying to put together good at-bats. Sometimes you just feel good. Just want to try and keep it going as long as possible.”
His manager was more effusive.
“I've said it in Spring Training that he's an MVP type of player. That's who he is,” Schumaker said. "He’ll carry the whole team on his back throughout a series. He's still a young player in the league, which is kind of crazy to think about, and he's still learning who he is as a hitter, but my gosh, the talent [is] there and he's a lot of fun to watch every day.”