Rookie Wyatt Langford hit a home run, doubled twice, and became the first Texas player this season to reach base five times. Struggling Jonah Heim came through with a two-run single to break a tie in the sixth inning, leading the Rangers to a 13-8 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.
Leody Taveras also contributed with a home run among his three hits for the Rangers.
Langford, who walked twice, has 12 home runs and 25 doubles this season. He is hitting .345 in September.
“I think it’s really important to finish on a strong note,” Langford said. “I’m just going to keep trying to do that.”
Before this game, Heim had struggled, going 1 for 34 in September. He hit a single to right field off Tommy Nance (0-2) to score Adolis García and Nathaniel Lowe, giving Texas a 9-7 lead.
Heim was hitting .212 with 53 RBIs after being named an All-Star starter last season with a career-best 95 RBIs. He also hit a double in the eighth inning before Taveras’ home run during a three-run inning.
The Rangers had 13 hits but left 13 runners on base. This was their highest-scoring game since a 15-8 win at Oakland on May 7.
Matt Festa (5-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win, improving his record to 5-0 in 13 appearances with the Rangers after signing as a free agent from the New York Mets on July 7.
Nathan Eovaldi, a key player in Texas’ 2023 journey to their first World Series championship, had his worst start of the year, which might have been his last home start with the Rangers. Eovaldi, who will be a free agent next season, gave up 11 hits (the most he’s allowed in two seasons with Texas) and seven runs (tied for the most).
“I felt like early in the game they just had a few hits that found the holes, a few first-pitch base hits,” Eovaldi said. “I think at the end of the day I just need to do a better job of executing my pitches.”
Eovaldi took a 7-3 lead into the fifth inning after the Rangers scored five unearned runs in the fourth, but the Jays then scored four runs to knock him out after 4 2/3 innings.
