Josh Jung did not leave anything on the Globe Life Field table Thursday night. Three hits. A walk. A double. A two-run homer in the first. Two RBI. And when the Texas Rangers needed a bat to answer an early Mets lead, his was the one that flipped the scoreboard.
The Associated Press reported that Jung and Corey Seager homered as Texas closed its home schedule with a 3-1 win over New York, stopping a three-game losing streak and leaving the Rangers tied with Houston for the AL West lead at 79-80 with three games left. The Astros own the 9-4 head-to-head tiebreaker, so Texas still has to finish ahead to claim the division.
From IL return to a full-box night
Jung's line, per the CBS Sports box score, was 3-for-3 with a run, two RBI, a home run, a walk and a double. The AP noted he is hitting .341 (15-for-44) in 11 games since coming off the injured list Sept. 12 after missing 47 games with a left calf strain.
Thursday was the clearest single-night stamp of that stretch: every plate appearance produced either a hit or a free pass.
The Mets struck first. Francisco Lindor doubled to open the game and scored on Carson Benge's two-out single for a 1-0 New York lead.
Justin Foscue singled to start the Texas first, Seager struck out, and Jung drove a two-run homer to left off rookie left-hander Zac Thornton - his 12th of the season - for a 2-1 Rangers lead that held the rest of the night.
Jung was not finished. He doubled in the fourth and walked in the sixth after Seager's solo shot made it 3-1. He singled again in the eighth before Nicky Lopez pinch-ran. Across eight innings of offense, the third baseman never made an out.
