ARLINGTON, TX — The Texas Rangers kept their second-half surge alive Monday night, opening their series against the Athletics with a 7-2 win at Globe Life Field. Texas improved to 3-1 since the break and 51-50 overall, their first time above .500 in nearly a month. They’ve now won six of their last eight and continue to climb after a slow start to the summer.
Rookie Jack Leiter set the tone on the mound, working into the seventh to pick up his sixth win of the season. The right-hander allowed just two runs across six innings, striking out seven and earning his fourth quality start of the year—all coming in his first full MLB season. Leiter has now won back-to-back starts for only the second time in his young career.
Offensively, it was a night of milestones. Michael Helman belted his first career home run—a three-run shot in the fifth—to break the game open. He’s the first Rangers rookie since 2022 to hit a homer on the first pitch of his first career blast. Helman also added a rare RBI sacrifice bunt later in the night.
Josh Jung, recalled from Triple-A earlier in the day, wasted no time making an impact. He drilled a solo homer in the third inning and reached base in all three of his plate appearances. Jung has now homered twice in his last three games, including his stint with Round Rock.
Cody Freeman joined the milestone parade with his first Major League hit and RBI on a double in the fifth.
Corey Seager kept his consistency alive, extending his on-base streak to 22 games with an RBI single in the seventh, marking the second-longest active streak in baseball.
Oakland, meanwhile, fell to 42-60 and dropped the series opener despite a solo homer from Nick Kurtz—his 19th of the year—and a standout defensive play from Lawrence Butler, who robbed Kyle Higashioka of a home run with a leaping catch at the wall.
Texas will look to stay hot and chip away at Oakland’s lead in the season series when the clubs meet again Tuesday night.
