ARLINGTON, Texas \u2013 Corey Seager’s first hit in a month for the Texas Rangers was a big one in his return from the injured list. <\/p>\n
Seager belted a two-run homer homer in the sixth inning that put the Rangers ahead in a 3-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians<\/a> on Friday night. The five-time All-Star shortstop and two-time World Series MVP missed the previous 19 games because of lower back inflammation. <\/p>\n That homer also snapped a career-worst 0-for-29 slump in his 12 big league seasons, since his previous hit May 6. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was just nice to get out there with the guys again,\u201d Seager said. \u201cYou obviously want to help.\u201d<\/p>\n He went deep off Cleveland rookie Parker Messick right after a double by Wyatt Langford, who was also activated from the IL before the game. Seager\u2019s eighth homer of the season made it 3-2. <\/p>\n \u201cIt’s definitely good to have them back,\u201d said Rangers manager Skip Schumaker, who saw good signs early in the game. \u201cTheir timing looked right the first at-bat, both of them. … Good news on both ends.\u201d<\/p>\n Langford, the left fielder, had missed 39 games since going on the injured list April 22 because of a right forearm strain<\/a>. They batted 1-2 in the lineup and their consecutive extra-base hits came in their third at-bats. <\/p>\n Seager, still hitting .181 in his 43 games, went into the series opener in an 0-for-27 slide that included 11 strikeouts<\/a>. He had been hitless in his previous seven games, also a career worst, since an RBI single on May 6 at Yankee Stadium<\/a> after he hit a home run earlier in that game.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited to see, really for the first time in some time, our group together. Still missing (second baseman) Josh Smith, but beyond that, we have not had our group together in a long time,\u201d Chris Young, the team\u2019s president of baseball operations, said before the game. <\/p>\n \u201cLook at the past week, 10 days, and there have been a lot of positives with the way we\u2019ve played,\u201d Young said. \u201cAnd now getting Corey and Wyatt back in this lineup, I think will be very big for us. I\u2019m excited to see what that does for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rangers (31-32) have won six of their last seven games. <\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, in a weird way, it\u2019s an easier way to come back for me and Wyatt when the team\u2019s going (good),\u201d Seager said. \u201cYou’ve just got to hop on the train and keep going. So it\u2019s definitely nice to be playing good and just to be able to be back out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Utility man Cody Freeman and outfielder Alejandro Osuna were optioned to Triple-A Round Rock to make room on the roster. Utility player Sam Haggerty was designated for assignment after he was activated from the bereavement\/family medial emergency list. <\/p>\n Langford and Seager played in two rehab games together this week at Double-A Frisco. That was after Langford played two games with Round Rock.<\/p>\n Seager hadn’t been in a big league game since May 13. At that point, the 32-year-old shortstop had started 42 of the Rangers’ first 43 games. He said then that physically he felt \u201ccompletely fine\u201d after playing all of their 24 games in a 27-day span.<\/p>\n The Rangers had a day off after that and planned for Seager to get an extra break by sitting out the series opener at Houston. But he didn’t play at all in that series<\/a> after waking up one morning with back spasms.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n