'Really incredible' Seager homers in 1st at-bat off IL

ARLINGTON -- Rangers manager Bruce Bochy described this point of the season as a sprint. With the Trade Deadline in the rearview mirror, teams know what pieces are in place for the stretch run.

“You have your club now. This is who you are,” Bochy said before Wednesday’s game. “Can’t thank ownership, front office enough for the work they did bringing in these really nice players to help us out. Now, it’s time for us to go to work.”

A few hours later, there was no question that the message had been received. Plenty of Rangers put in work during an 11-1 rout of the White Sox at Globe Life Field, but All-Star shortstop Corey Seager and right-hander Dane Dunning were the biggest stars of the night.

Seager was activated off the injured list a couple of hours before first pitch, clearing the final hurdle when he hit against live pitching before the game. He continued to hit live pitching well once the contest kicked off, driving in the Rangers’ first three runs. Seager belted a two-run home run in the first inning, sending a 1-0 knuckle curve from White Sox starter Dylan Cease into the right-center-field seats. Then he sparked what became a five-run second inning with an RBI single.

He finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

“I felt good during my [live hitting sessions],” Seager said. “At this point, it’s kind of a pain tolerance thing, right? I felt like I could go. They were OK with me going, so we went.”

Seager had missed nine games with a sprained right thumb. He sustained the injury while making a headfirst slide into second base in a July 21 game vs. the Dodgers. But the thumb didn’t appear to bother him throughout the game.

Chicago’s first three batters hit balls to Seager to start the game and he had no issues fielding them, although Luis Robert Jr. reached on a soft single. Offensively, Seager shined for five innings before exiting with the Rangers leading 9-0.

“I don’t know what else to say about Corey. He’s amazing,” Bochy said. “He’s just that talented. He takes one day of live BP, says he’s good to go and the first at-bat [he hits a home run]. Really, really incredible what he did today.”

Dunning, meanwhile, dazzled on the mound with a career-high 11 strikeouts. He threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings before giving up a solo home run to Seby Zavala. That ended Dunning’s night, but he earned his first win since July 4.

Much like how Andrew Heaney answered the bell on Tuesday, Dunning stepped up as the Rangers' rotation faces competition after the Trade Deadline additions of Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery.

“Competition is a good thing,” Bochy said. “[Dunning] goes out there and is right on. I’m sure that might have been motivation, but throughout the season it’s been a good rotation. This is more who we are, and hopefully it gets contagious.”

Along with Seager and Dunning, Josh Jung had an impressive night. He entered the game 0-for-12 with six strikeouts over his past three games, but broke out of that mini-slump with a two-run home run and a double. Marcus Semien also went deep.

All of it resulted in a dominant victory for an organization that pushed its chips all-in at the Deadline. As Bochy said, the Rangers’ ownership and front office showed confidence by being aggressive and making big-time trades, highlighted by acquiring Scherzer and Montgomery.

By winning Wednesday, the Rangers remained atop the AL West standings. A loss would have dropped them a half-game behind the Astros. But the sprint is just getting started.

“It’s definitely coming down to the wire, but I don’t think anything changes for us,” Seager said. “We’ve been trying to win series all year. It’s just going out there and playing good baseball and trying to win the series.”