Seager (33 HR), Semien (100 R) wrapping up strong Rangers debuts
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ANAHEIM -- Not much went right for the Rangers at Angel Stadium this week, especially for the offense. They scratched across just one run on five hits in the series opener on Friday and two runs on two hits on Saturday.
Sunday’s series finale wasn’t much different. Texas didn't get much beyond a 368-foot two-run homer from Corey Seager before falling, 8-3, to the Angels to complete the sweep during the Rangers’ final road trip of the season.
It was Seager’s 33rd home run of the season, extending his career high. He leads all American League shortstops in homers and is tied for fifth among all AL players.
Earlier in the road trip, Seager had become just the fifth player with at least 30 homers, 80 RBIs and 80 runs scored in his first season with the Rangers, joining Pete Incaviglia (1986), Alex Rodriguez (2001), Josh Hamilton (2008) and Adrián Beltré (2011).
Even so, it comes in the midst of a late-season slump for Seager, who is hitting just .207 over his last 30 games.
“He got a good pitch to hit,” said interim manager Tony Beasley. “He just missed another one to right field, so it was good for him to have some success. Of course we need Corey Seager to do Corey Seager things for us to be successful. So it's good to see him do what he did today.”
Marcus Semien benefitted as much as anybody on Seager’s homer. The second baseman walked ahead of the at-bat and scored his 100th run of the season on the dinger. He joins Freddie Freeman as the only two players in MLB with 100+ runs in each of the last three full seasons (excluding the 60-game 2020).
Semien has emphasized just how important it is for him to reach 100 runs, especially as he continues his iron-man mentality of looking to play 162 games every year (though he will only get to 161 this season).
“I play a lot of games, so I want to get on base and score runs for us,” Semien said. “That was a great swing by Corey, and I was able to get on by walking. ... That's always a goal of mine [scoring 100 runs]. I feel like in the years coming, I want to set my goals even higher. Let's see what I can do.”
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Beasley said that Semien takes pride in his run total because scoring runs is the best way to help the team win. Even with the Rangers almost 30 games under .500, Semien’s contribution at the top of the lineup has driven the offense throughout the season.
“It's a good barometer for success when a guy takes pride in something like that and then accomplishes it,” Beasley said. “Hopefully we can get a few more guys to adopt that as well and take pride in scoring 100 runs for us.”
Getting Semien to 100 runs scored despite his slow start to the season means even more. He slashed just .196/.258/.268 with one homer and 18 runs scored in the first 45 games.
Semien also still sits at the brink of his first 25/25 season, with 26 homers and 24 stolen bases ahead of the Rangers’ season-closing four-game home series against the Yankees.
“If it's there, I'll take it,” Semien said of securing that last stolen base. “I'm not gonna run into any outs. I'd like to just swing the bat well for this last series and get on base, and if it's there, I'll take it.”