Langford channels Nelson Cruz with Rangers' first walk-off slam since 2011
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ARLINGTON -- Wyatt Langford whisper-shouted ¡°No!¡± under his breath after the fourth pitch of his plate appearance crossed the plate for a called strike two. Langford thought it should have been ball three or even four. And he was right.
But the 22-year-old called time before re-setting himself in the box and awaited the 2-2 offering from Yankees closer Clay Holmes. It was a ball in the dirt. Holmes then hung a 3-2 slider a little up and in the zone. Langford handled all of it, launching a Statcast-projected 407 foot walk-off grand slam to stun New York and send the Rangers home winners with a 7-4 walk-off victory on Tuesday night at Globe Life Field.
And, well, the Rangers are getting used to this.
For the third time this homestand, the Rangers secured a win via walk-off. This time, it was courtesy of Langford, who propelled Texas to a comeback win over the Yankees with the first walk-off grand slam struck by a Rangers rookie in franchise history.
"Everybody likes those moments,¡± Langford said. ¡°I think you like them even more if you¡¯re able to come through. It¡¯s really cool to be able to do that. ¡ It¡¯s awesome. No better feeling."
It was the eighth regular-season walk-off grand slam in franchise history and the first since Marlon Byrd in 2008, also against the Yankees. It¡¯s the first walk-off grand slam for the Rangers, including the postseason, since Nelson Cruz in Game 2 of the 2011 ALCS.
"I saw a guy that was very poised,¡± manager Bruce Bochy said of Langford. ¡°He¡¯s been there, and he's come through a few times like that. We had the right guy up there, good swings. He was all set up by some good at-bats before that. He has a knack for getting a hit when we need it. In his young career, he's got some big ones already, and this is part of his growth. You can tell he likes to be up there in that situation."
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The Rangers have now won via walk-off in three straight wins and six of their last seven home victories. The Marlins won three straight games in walk-off fashion from June 18-21, but they are the only other team this year to have three wins in a row of the walk-off variety.
The Rangers haven't had three straight walk-off wins since August 19-21, 2019.
It¡¯s also the ninth walk-off of the season for the club. Texas¡¯ nine walk-off wins are tied for the club¡¯s most since 2010 (when it had 11) and are more than the total for the past two seasons combined (four in 2023, three in 2022).
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So what¡¯s up with this team¡¯s propensity for walk-off wins?
"Tell me about it,¡± Bochy said with his head in his hands. ¡°We¡¯re scratching our heads too. We'd love to get it going earlier. Trust me, it¡¯d be a lot easier on all of us, but I'll keep saying it. That's why you play nine and keep fighting."
Langford alone has recorded a team-high three walk-off hits this season, becoming the first Ranger with as many as three walk-off hits in a single campaign since Josh Hamilton in 2011 (also three).
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For a guy who admits he hasn¡¯t had the rookie season he envisioned, Langford has shown flashes of the player he can be at the big league level. He hasn¡¯t been perfect -- that much is obvious -- and he has a high standard for himself. But Langford knows he can be an elite player in the big leagues, and he will keep trying to prove it.
"It's super important [to finish strong] and be able to go in the offseason with kind of a basis of what I did good at the end of the year, to kind of use that going into next year,¡± Langford said. ¡°It¡¯s very important."