ARLINGTON -- Picture this: It¡¯s 2011 and a young Josh Bell steps up to the plate at the old Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. His high school team -- Dallas Jesuit -- is trailing big and he is hitless heading into his last at-bat.

Was Bell certain he was going to play in a Major League ballpark again? Maybe. Maybe not. But at that moment he thought to himself, ¡°Screw it, I¡¯m going to try to hit this ball as hard as I can.¡±

Bell homered to the Rangers bullpen that night. Dallas Jesuit lost the game but it felt like they won, he remembered. Rounding those bases is a memory Bell will never forget, and he was able to recall it almost perfectly following the Nationals' 2-1 win over the Rangers on Friday at Globe Life Field.

Friday¡¯s win marked Bell¡¯s first homecoming against his hometown team since 2019 -- and the Nationals¡¯ first time playing the Rangers on the road since 2005. Feeling the local love, with about 30 or 40 friends and family in the stands, Bell finished the night 3-for-4, and he was a home run short of hitting for the cycle.

¡°Being able to do this in front of [family and friends] makes it all the more special,¡± Bell said.

The first baseman can now say he¡¯s played in two Rangers ballparks: once in high school and twice in the Majors with the Pirates at what is now known as Choctaw Stadium, and Friday at Globe Life Field. But he can¡¯t say he¡¯s homered in both just yet.

The big difference between then and now is that the Rangers have a roof, so Bell is expecting an even bigger crowd of family and friends on Saturday and Sunday.

¡°It¡¯s a lot easier to, I guess, get people here when it¡¯s not 115 degrees,¡± Bell said. ¡°So, kudos to the new stadium.¡±

In his first at-bat Friday, Bell tripled. For a split second, he stood in the box as if the ball was pulling foul, but then he ¡°turned on the speed,¡± manager Dave Martinez said, as it bounced off the right-field wall.

¡°I honestly couldn¡¯t believe it went that far. It was one of those funky swings [where] I get the ball up in the air and good things happen,¡± Bell said. ¡°I watched it bounce off the wall and figured, I don¡¯t get a lot of chances at these, so might as well take advantage of it.¡±

The triple was a big hit, but not Bell¡¯s biggest of the night. He doubled in the sixth inning, which put him in a position to score the go-ahead run on Luis Garc¨ªa¡¯s double. Then, with the game tied at 1-1 in the eighth, Bell plated Juan Soto as the game-winning run with an RBI single.

¡°[Bell] had a great night,¡± Martinez said. ¡°He¡¯s been consistent for us all year long.¡±

Bell¡¯s night was backed up by a clean performance from Paolo Espino on the mound. Espino pitched a season-high 5 1/3 innings, allowing just one run off six hits. Through three starts now as a new arm in the rotation and 20 games in relief before that, Espino¡¯s ERA is sitting at 2.21.

¡°Right now, I¡¯m not looking at ERA, I mean, it¡¯s too early,¡± Espino said. ¡°Hopefully I end up at 2.00 at the end of the season, maybe even 1.00. It¡¯s a long season.¡±