‘Putting A Little Bit Too Much Pressure On Themselves’: Wyatt Langford Drops To 6th As Texas Rangers Search For Offense
PHOENIX — Rangers manager Skip Schumaker dropped Wyatt Langford to sixth in the order Saturday, three spots under Josh Jung in Jung’s first game back. Asked on Rangers Sports Network what he sees from Langford at the plate, Schumaker pointed at the standings.
“Some guys right now at this time of the year just want to help the team so bad that they kind of grip it a little bit more and want to knock in all the runs and want to have that big hit or big home run, whatever it is, because they know where we’re at in the season as far as the record and where we’re at in the standings,” Schumaker said. “And so I think sometimes guys are putting a little bit too much pressure on themselves instead of just freeing up and just playing.”
Langford singled in his last at-bat of Friday’s 9-1 loss at Chase Field.
“Wyatt is such a good hitter, such a good player that I’m thinking it’s going to click every at-bat when he’s up,” Schumaker explained. “Got a hit his last at-bat last night. Hopefully it carries over tonight.”
Wyatt Langford’s Season
Through 95 games, Langford has hit .241/.330/.435 with 16 home runs, 18 doubles, and 38 RBI. He has stolen 13 bases in 16 tries and carries a 121 OPS+. His 2.8 WAR ranks second among Texas Rangers position players. His 16 home runs rank fourth on the club.
Ahead of him at 4.6 WAR is Ezequiel Durán, who has played 138 games and hit .270/.330/.445 with 17 home runs and 78 RBI.
The Lineup Around Him
Batting third in his first game back from a seven-week calf absence, Jung pushed everyone below him down a slot.
Limited to 87 games, Corey Seager has hit .227/.322/.430 with 17 home runs. Joc Pederson leads the club at 135 OPS+. His 26 home runs through 134 games tie Jake Burger for the team high, and Burger has driven in 83 runs over 140 games, the most on the roster.
Brandon Nimmo has played the most games, with 141. He has hit .261/.325/.411 with 14 home runs and 58 RBI. Evan Carter has hit .195/.293/.323 over 127 games. Justin Foscue has the highest slugging percentage among the regulars at .502, with 11 home runs in 88 games. Nicky Lopez has hit .285 over 82 games, the highest average on the roster.
As a team, Texas has scored 610 runs and hit .243/.317/.400 with 171 home runs. The pitching staff carries a 4.29 ERA.
The Rangers scored a run Friday and have gone 6-16 over their last 22 road games without taking a series since the All-Star break. They are 72-76 with 14 games left, finishing at Arizona on Sunday before home series against the Boston Red Sox, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the New York Mets and three at the Minnesota Twins.
Kumar Rocker faces Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfaadt at 7:10 p.m. CT on Rangers Sports Network. Rocker is 5-11 with a 4.61 ERA, and Pfaadt is 7-2 with a 3.53 ERA for a Diamondbacks club sitting at 79-69.
