The Texas Rangers delivered a night to remember as rookies Cody Freeman and Michael Helman notched their first big-league hits on back-to-back pitches, immediately following Josh Jung’s electrifying return homer.
Their milestone moments helped fuel a 7-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.
Josh Jung, back in the majors after a stint with Triple-A Round Rock, wasted no time making an impact.
In his first at-bat, Jung blasted a solo home run to give Texas an early 1-0 lead in the third inning.
He continued his strong performance with a walk, two runs scored, and a single later in the game.
His contributions set the tone for what became a memorable night for the Rangers’ young players.
The fireworks truly ignited in the fifth inning. Batting ninth as the designated hitter, Freeman broke a 1-1 tie with a sharp RBI double to the right-center gap for his first career MLB hit and RBI.
On the very next pitch, with the crowd still buzzing, Helman followed with a towering three-run homer to left — his first career home run and first RBIs at the big-league level.
“That was cool that Cody got his first hit and an RBI right before that, and then that happened. That was pretty special,” Helman said of their back-to-back milestones.
Freeman, still processing the moment, added,
“I hit the ball and didn’t know what happened from contact to second base.”
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The last time Major League Baseball witnessed such a feat — a player’s first career hit immediately followed by a teammate’s first career home run — was nearly five years ago, when Philadelphia’s Mickey Moniak and Rafael Marchan accomplished it in 2020.
“These guys won that game for us,” said Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, who praised the poise and readiness of his young players.
Both Jung and Helman had only arrived from Las Vegas earlier that day after a hectic travel schedule that included a delayed flight, baggage claim troubles, and even what Jung jokingly described as “a little police escort” through rush-hour traffic.
They barely made it to the ballpark in time for first pitch, skipping batting practice entirely.
“I think it showed that BP is overrated,” Bochy quipped.
“Just put on a uniform. It’s old-school, like playing American Legion ball.”
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Helman added a fourth RBI later in the game with a safety squeeze bunt in the seventh inning, becoming the first Ranger since Bob Brower in 1987 to combine a home run and a sacrifice bunt RBI in the same game.
For Freeman, Monday’s milestone capped off a whirlwind few days.
After debuting Friday as a pinch-runner and going 0-for-3 in his first start Sunday night against AL All-Star Tarik Skubal, he found his rhythm.
“I was way more relaxed than yesterday,” Freeman admitted.
“It just felt more normal today.”
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Helman, now with his third organization after a brief stint with Minnesota last season, credited his teammates for setting him up for success.
“Because the guys before me did theirs, I felt like I needed to get something in the air. And it worked out better than I expected.”
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As the Rangers also announced the signing of first-round draft pick Gavin Fien on the same night, the future in Texas looked just a little brighter thanks to a trio of timely swings.
