Corey Seager hit a home run and rookie Cody Bradford pitched five strong innings as the Texas Rangers defeated the New York Yankees 9-4 to split their doubleheader on Saturday.
Rookie Wyatt Langford had two hits and stole a base, while Adolis García ended the doubleheader with five hits and an RBI, helping Texas end a three-game losing streak from the two-game series that was rescheduled due to rain on Friday.
“Pretty cool,” Seager said about hitting his first home run at Yankee Stadium. He was a Yankees fan growing up, and his parents are from upstate New York. His father played college baseball at Fairleigh Dickinson University, which is less than 10 miles from Yankee Stadium.
In the first game, Carlos Rodón allowed three hits over 5 2/3 innings, and Austin Wells drove in four runs in the Yankees’ 8-0 win. Aaron Judge drove in his major league-leading 105th run and reached base four times. García and Josh Jung each had two hits for Texas.
The win in Game 2 was the Rangers’ fourth in 14 games. They are 6 1/2 games behind AL West leaders Houston and Seattle. The Astros beat the Red Sox 5-4, and Seattle will play the Mets later on Saturday.
“That’s more our baseball,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “It’s been frustrating because we haven’t clicked.”
Giancarlo Stanton and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit home runs in the second game for New York, which fell a half-game behind Baltimore in the American League East and for the best record in the AL. The Orioles will play Tampa Bay later on Saturday. Chisholm made a costly mental error at third base in the loss.
Seager’s 25th home run of the season was part of a five-run sixth inning. Nathaniel Lowe and García had consecutive singles with one out. Leody Tavares hit a sinking line drive to right.
Juan Soto made a diving attempt to catch the ball but dropped it as he hit the ground. Soto threw to the infield, and Gleyber Torres quickly threw to third base.
Lowe was initially called out at third, but the call was reversed after it was shown that Chisholm’s back foot had come off the bag as he tried to tag Lowe instead of accepting the force out.
“I thought they called it a catch, so I was really looking for the double play,” Chisholm said. Seager said: “We got a break at third and it kind of changed from there.”
In the sixth inning, Luke Weaver (4-3) walked Carson Kelly, allowing a run to score, and Josh Smith added a sacrifice fly. Corey Seager then hit Weaver’s next pitch into the stands in right field, which helped Texas pull ahead.
Texas’ big inning in the sixth spoiled a strong performance by Yankees starter Gerrit Cole. The 33-year-old right-hander gave up an RBI single to Adolis García and struck out a season-high 10 batters over 5 1/3 innings.
This was one of Cole’s best starts after missing the first 75 games of the season due to nerve inflammation and swelling in his right elbow.
Rookie Cody Bradford, whose family came from Texas to see him play, matched Cole in his second start after missing over three months with a back injury and a rib fracture.
In his first game against the Yankees, Bradford (4-0) matched his season high with seven strikeouts and allowed one run.
“Today was a real dream come true, pitching at Yankee Stadium,” Bradford said.
The Yankees scored three runs against Gerson Garabito in the eighth inning. Aaron Judge walked with two outs before Giancarlo Stanton hit a 2-0 pitch 451 feet for his 19th home run of the season.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit home runs in both games. He now has seven homers in 12 games with New York, compared to 13 homers in 101 games with Miami.
In the first game, New York chased Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi (8-6) after three innings. Eovaldi was taken out due to tightness in his right side.
Carlos Rodón (13-7) allowed three hits, walked five, and struck out six in his eighth start where he gave up one run or fewer.
Relievers Ron Marinaccio and Tim Hill combined for three strikeouts and completed the five-hitter, marking the Yankees’ eighth shutout of the season.
