Wyatt Langford, Rangers look to extend good feelings vs. A's

Wyatt Langford's bat has been in hibernation and the Texas Rangers hope mid-August is a good time for its reappearance.

The 24-year-old Langford is fresh off his first homer since Aug. 1 and his first multi-hit outing since July 25 when the Rangers complete a three-game series against the Athletics on Sunday afternoon at West Sacramento, Calif.

Langford's second homer in his last 21 appearances was a two-run shot in the sixth inning that put Texas in the lead for good en route to a 5-3 victory over the A's on Saturday. He had three hits for the eighth time this season as the Rangers broke a four-game losing streak.

"It feels really good," Langford said after hitting his 14th homer of the season. "We're coming out trying to win every day and it felt real good to get this one."

Entering the contest, Langford was 3-for-37 over a 12-game span and 7-for-63 over his last 17 outings.

The Rangers hold the third wild-card spot in the American League and trail the Houston Astros by two games in the AL West race.

And Langford is well aware he needs to get his bat heated up to help fortify the club's playoff chances.

"We feel like we haven't played our best baseball," Langford said. "For us to be in this position is awesome because we feel our best is ahead of us."

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said Langford didn't allow his work ethic to drop during the recent struggles.

"Wyatt has been fighting," Schumaker said. "You could see his frustration the last few games. He's such a hard worker and you knew he was going to come through eventually."

Meanwhile, the major league-worst Athletics continue to flounder with their 16th setback in their past 20 games. They also have dropped nine of their last 10 home games.

Rookie Henry Bolte had a three-run homer on Saturday. He had three hits for the sixth time this season.

"This is a kid who is exciting," A's manager Mark Kotsay said of Bolte. "We're really excited about him and his future and the adjustments he's been able to make."

Bolte's homer was a blistering liner down the left-field line. The ball hit just inches above the wall and caromed off the left side of the foul pole into foul territory.

The umpiring crew initially ruled the ball foul before overturning the call. Bolte had no idea it was a fair ball while he circled the bases.

"I thought it was foul," Bolte said. "I was going to keep running until they told me to stop ... I got a clue of what was going on after. That was a crazy one."

Jacob Lopez (5-4, 5.38 ERA) of the A's and Cody Bradford (0-1, 2.38) of the Rangers square off Sunday in a battle of left-handers.

Lopez was superb against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday when he gave up two runs and five hits over seven innings. He exited with a four-run lead but the bullpen imploded and allowed eight runs in the eighth as the Athletics lost 10-6.

Lopez, 28, is 1-1 with a 2.36 ERA in five outings since the All-Star break.

Lopez is 0-2 with a 6.46 ERA in five career appearances (three starts) against the Rangers. He has a 4.50 ERA in two appearances (one start) this season.

Bradford, 28, is making his third start since returning from Tommy John surgery. He missed all of the 2025 season.

Bradford lost to the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday when he allowed three runs and five hits over seven innings.

Bradford is 1-0 with a 1.47 ERA in four appearances (three starts) against the Athletics. He has struggled against Lawrence Butler (4-for-8, one homer).

--Field Level Media