BALTIMORE– Needing a home run for the cycle in the eighth inning, Wyatt Langford was focused on just that.
Not that it changed his approach much.
“I was obviously feeling really good at that point,” Langford said. “Just one of those things that happens.”
The Texas rookie completed the cycle with a three run shot down the left field line on Sunday night, part of an 11-2 victory for the Rangers against the Baltimore Orioles. It was the first cycle in the major leagues in 2024. At this point last season, there had already been four.
It was also the first four-hit game of the career of the 22-year-old Langford, who was drafted last year by the Rangers with the fourth overall pick and quickly rose to the majors to make Texas’ opening day roster. this season.
“He’s an exciting player,” coach Bruce Bochy said. “He’s a player and you love how aggressive he is. No fear at the bases. Out of the box, he’s trying to get double or triple.”
Langford tripled in the fourth, and his RBI double in the fifth was a grounder to right-center field that he extended for a two-base hit.
“How I was raised, I guess,” Langford said when asked about running so much. “My father would spank me if I didn’t. I’ll give him credit for that.”
His speed had already made an impact, Langford needed more power after his sixth-inning single left him one home run away from the cycle when he reached the eighth.
“I was trying to hit a home run,” Langford said. “That kind of speaks for itself.”
Langford became the 11th Rangers player to hit for the cycle, the first since Carlos Gomez in April 2017 against the Angels. The only other Texas rookie to do so was Oddibe McDowell in 1985.
Langford was also the first player to hit for the cycle in a game broadcast on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball.”
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