Jung and Seager keep Rangers in AL West race with 3-1 win over Mets

Texas had lost three straight and was running out of home games. Josh Jung changed Thursday's finale with a two-run homer in the first inning, Corey Seager added a solo shot in the sixth, and the Rangers beat the Mets 3-1. The win ended the home schedule and kept Texas in the AL West race with three road games remaining. The MLB game page records the final and the scoring sequence.

New York had struck first. Francisco Lindor opened the game with a double and scored on Carson Benge's two-out single. In the bottom half, Jung drove Zac Thornton's pitch out with a runner aboard, giving Texas the lead it never surrendered. Watch Jung's first-inning homer in MLB's clip from the September 24 game. It was his 12th of the season and accounted for the decisive runs.

Jung finished with three hits and a walk. The Associated Press game report notes that he has hit .341 in 11 games since returning from a left calf strain that kept him out for 47 games. That return matters in a tight division race: his first swing Thursday gave the Rangers a lead, and his later trips helped keep pressure on the Mets' staff.

Kumar Rocker made the lead stand. He worked five innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out four. Texas used four relievers after him, with Jordan Montgomery retiring the side in order in the ninth for his second major league save. The Mets never matched their first-inning run, despite Thornton limiting Texas to Jung's homer across his own five innings.

Seager supplied insurance in the sixth. His solo homer off Jefry Yan was his 19th and broke an 0-for-15 stretch, according to the AP. The third run gave Montgomery and the bullpen more room to close. Texas finished the afternoon 79-80, one half-game ahead of Houston at that moment. The Astros later beat the Athletics 7-5 on Thursday night, leaving both clubs 79-80; Houston holds the season-series tiebreaker. The final-weekend standings therefore require more than simply matching Houston's results.

Texas goes to Minnesota for its last three regular-season games. The Rangers have no more home dates to recover from a mistake, but Thursday's performance kept their chance alive. Jung's early power and Rocker's five steady innings gave them the one result they needed before the final trip. New York, at 73-86 after the loss, closes its season with three games in Washington.