ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Corey Seager hit a go-ahead homer to end a career-worst 0-for-29 slump in his first game for Texas in more than three weeks and Kyle Higashioka also went deep as the Rangers beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-2 on Friday night.
Seager had missed 19 games since May 13 while on the injured list because of lower back inflammation. His two-run homer in the sixth inning made it 3-2 right after a double by Wyatt Langford, who missed 39
games since April 21 because of a right forearm strain before he was also activated from the IL before the game.
Guardians rookie starter Parker Messick (6-2) retired 15 of the first 16 batters he faced, including the first 11, before Higashioka homered leading off the sixth. Messick then gave up the extra-base hits to Langford and Seager, and another hit to Josh Jung before a two-out walk ended his night.
Rangers starter Kumar Rocker struck out five while allowing two runs over five innings before Peyton Gray (2-0) worked 1 2/3 innings. Jacob Latz, their third reliever, worked two innings for his ninth save.
Travis Bazzana had his first career leadoff homer and finished with three hits for the Guardians. He was stranded at third after a leadoff triple in the fifth.
Austin Hedges, a backup catcher for the Rangers’ World Series championship team in 2023, put the Guardians up 2-0 with an RBI single in the fourth.
Seager's 0-for-29 slide included 11 strikeouts. The two-time World Series MVP, still hitting .181 in his 43 games, had been hitless in his previous seven games, also a career worst, since an RBI single on May 6 at Yankee Stadium after he hit a home run earlier in that game.
Tanner Bibbe (0-7, 4.57 ERA) pitches for the Guardians in the middle game of the series Saturday. Rangers right-hander Jack Leiter (3-4, 4.34) tries to win his third start in a row.
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