Jon Gray wins in season debut as Rangers sweep Athletics

Published 12:05 am Thursday, July 24, 2025

ARLINGTON — It took only 10 seconds for Wyatt Langford to sprint from first to home in the seventh inning to score the Texas Rangers’ winning run against the Athletics on Wednesday night at Globe Life Field.

“That’s just flat-out hustle,” manager Bruce Bochy said after the 2-1 win. “That’s just playing the game right. Assuming the ball is going to be caught, busting it all the way. That’s what speed does and it’ll win the game for us.”

Langford drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the seventh inning. Jonah Heim followed with a fly ball to left-center field. Athletics’ shortstop Jacob Wilson and left fielder Tyler Soderstrom tracked the ball into shallow left-center field, but they pulled away and let it drop between them.

Heim said that after that play, he owes Langford a dinner for making it home in time.

“Tremendous hustle by Wyatt,” Heim said. “The double’s cool, but it’s cool to see him scoring on that. I mean, the ball went maybe 10 feet past the infield.”

Langford watched the ball fall as he was running. When he looked up, third base coach Tony Beasley was sending him home. To Langford, that was the logical choice.

“Two outs, ball in the air, you just run,” Langford said. “Because you never know. Thankfully, it happened.”

Heim called the play a “Rangers culture play,” and said plays like that are what the team wants to be about.

“It’s what we preach here,” Heim said. “We want to play hard until outs are made. They gave us a gift and we capitalized on it.”

Corey Seager hit a third-inning solo homer and Heim drove in the deciding run to compete a three-game sweep.

The Rangers have won five of six since the All-Star break while the Athletics have dropped five of six. Texas is three games over .500 for the first time since May 17.

Jon Gray (1-0), who gave up one hit in two scoreless innings of relief, got the win in his season debut. He was activated from the 60-day injured list earlier Wednesday, having recovered from fracturing his right forearm in spring training.

Texas’ Robert Garcia gave up a leadoff single to Shea Langeliers in the ninth but retired the next three batters, striking out two, to earn his eighth save of the season.

The Rangers won despite being outhit 7-4. Seager had two of Texas’ hits and extended his streak of reaching base to 24 games.

Brent Rooker and Langeliers had two hits each for the Athletics, who scored a combined five runs in the three-game series.

Both teams threatened in the early innings before Seager ripped a solo home run over the center field fence against Athletics starter JP Sears with two outs in the third.

The 1-0 margin held up until the sixth, when Nick Kurtz’s double off Texas starter Patrick Corbin drove home Rooker, who had singled with two outs.