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.
Rangers
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.
Texas Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford scores past Athletics catcher Austin Wynns on a double by Rangers catcher Jonah Heim during the seventh inning of baseball game at Globe Life Field on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
“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.”
Rangers on a roll: See photos from Texas’ final win of a three-game sweep of the Athletics
View GalleryTexas Rangers activating Jon Gray from injured list for new bullpen roleTexas Rangers agree to terms with second-round pick AJ Russell and 17 of 20 draftees
Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Click or tap here to sign up for our Rangers newsletter.