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Gray pitches 2-hit ball over 5 innings and Langford hits grand slam to lift Rangers over Royals 6-0

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) Jon Gray allowed two hits over five innings to rebound from his worst major league start and Wyatt Langford hit an eighth-inning grand slam that led the Texas Rangers over the Kansas City Royals 6-0 on Saturday.

Gray (3-3) gave up back-to-back third-inning singles while throwing 51 of 72 pitches for strikes. He gave nine earned runs and 11 hits in three innings-plus last Monday in a 14-2 loss to the New York Mets.

“Terrific job. Good stuff,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said of Gray. “It’s good to see him back on track.”

Langford, a 22-year-old rookie who debuted on opening day, connected off a 2-2 slider from Angel Zerpa for the Rangers’ first grand slam this season. Langford is hitting .299 with 18 RBIs in 21 games since returning from a hamstring strain that caused him to miss most of May.

“That was pretty cool,” Langford said. "I even forgot it was a grand slam.”

World Series champion Texas has won three straight following a five-game losing streak. The Rangers have scored at least five runs in four consecutive games for the first time this season.

Kansas City, which tied a season low with three hits, has lost 10 of 13, scoring 36 runs in those games.

Josh Smith hit a solo homer in the fourth off Michael Wacha (4-6) and Adolis García hit a run-scoring comebacker in the eighth as Marcus Semien slid home ahead of Zerpa’s throw.

Jacob Latz, David Robertson and Brock Burke finished the three-hitter, just the third shutout against the Royals this season. Seventeen consecutive Kansas City batters were retired between Adam Frazier’s third-inning single and pinch-hitter Nelson Velázquez’s one-out single in the ninth.

Wacha gave up three hits and one walk in five innings. It was his first start since May 31, when his left foot was fractured by a comebacker on his fourth pitch against San Diego.

“What a competitor,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of the 32-year-old, who pitched at Texas A&M. “I mean, he’s pitching on a hurt foot, battling back this whole time without it really being a hundred percent. To come out here and pitch that good against that team is really impressive.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: 3B Josh Jung (fractured right wrist) will accompany the team on next week’s trip and could be ready to play by midweek.

UP NEXT

Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer is to make his season debut in Sunday’s series finale. Scherzer, 39, hasn’t pitched for the Rangers since Game 3 of the World Series last fall. RHP Alec Marsh (5-4, 4.37 ERA) starts for the Royals, who will try to avoid being swept for the first time this season, after allowing a career-high seven runs in three innings in a loss at Oakland on Tuesday.

---

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Royals KC42-36	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
Rangers TEX36-40	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	X	6	7	0

Globe Life FieldArlington, TX

W: J. Gray (3-3)L: M. Wacha (4-6)S: (0)
HR: TEX - J. Smith (13), W. Langford (16)

KCRoyals

TEXRangers

.J. GrayJon Gray
P
6.0 IP, 3 SO, 72 P
.W. LangfordWyatt Langford
LF
2-4, R, 4 RBI, HR

HITTERS	AB	H	SO	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	FPTS
A. Frazier RF	3	1	0	0	.211	.297	.299	.596	1.0
a- N. Velazquez PH	1	1	0	0	.203	.278	.371	.649	1.0
B. Witt SS	4	0	0	3	.314	.362	.537	.899	0.0
V. Pasquantino DH	4	0	2	1	.234	.316	.406	.722	-1.0
S. Perez 1B	3	0	0	0	.283	.356	.460	.816	0.0
N. Loftin 2B	3	0	2	0	.239	.339	.304	.644	-1.0
M. Melendez LF	3	0	2	0	.178	.242	.362	.604	-1.0
M. Garcia 3B	3	0	1	0	.238	.290	.349	.640	-0.5
F. Fermin C	3	0	0	0	.288	.336	.424	.760	0.0
G. Hampson CF	3	1	2	0	.288	.333	.365	.699	0.0

HITTERS	AB
A. Frazier RF	3
a- N. Velazquez PH	1
B. Witt SS	4
V. Pasquantino DH	4
S. Perez 1B	3
N. Loftin 2B	3
M. Melendez LF	3
M. Garcia 3B	3
F. Fermin C	3
G. Hampson CF	3

a-singled for Frazier in the 9th

HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	BB	SO	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	FPTS
M. Semien 2B	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	.252	.318	.416	.735	2.0
C. Seager SS	4	1	1	0	0	0	2	0	.252	.340	.440	.780	1.0
J. Smith 3B	3	1	2	1	1	0	0	0	.304	.393	.469	.862	7.0
A. Garcia RF	4	1	1	1	0	0	1	2	.213	.273	.399	.672	2.5
N. Lowe 1B	2	1	0	0	0	2	0	1	.257	.355	.342	.697	5.0
W. Langford LF	4	1	2	4	1	0	0	2	.254	.313	.368	.681	10.0
J. Heim C	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	3	.226	.281	.329	.610	0.0
T. Jankowski DH	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	.205	.258	.259	.517	-0.5
L. Taveras CF	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	.211	.277	.326	.603	-0.5

HITTERS	AB
M. Semien 2B	4
C. Seager SS	4
J. Smith 3B	3
A. Garcia RF	4
N. Lowe 1B	2
W. Langford LF	4
J. Heim C	3
T. Jankowski DH	4
L. Taveras CF	3

Runners left in scoring position, 2-Out - B. Witt

HR - J. Smith (6), W. Langford (3)
SH - J. Smith (2)
RBI - J. Smith (30), A. Garcia (41), W. Langford 4 (30)
Runners left in scoring position, 2-Out - T. Jankowski 2 (2)

SB - N. Lowe (2)

DP - (Witt-Perez)
E - N. Loftin (3)

PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA	WHIP	FPTS
M. Wacha (L, 4-6)	5.0	3	1	1	1	5	1	4.07	1.22	7.5
W. Smith	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4.94	1.35	2.0
C. Stratton	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	4.68	1.19	2.0
A. Zerpa	0.1	3	5	5	1	0	1	3.49	1.38	-8.0
N. Anderson	0.2	0	0	0	0	2	0	4.13	1.55	3.0

PITCHERS	IP
M. Wacha (L, 4-6)	5.0
W. Smith	1.0
C. Stratton	1.0
A. Zerpa	0.1
N. Anderson	0.2

PITCHERS	IP	H	SO	ERA	WHIP	FPTS
J. Gray (W, 3-3)	6.0	2	3	3.03	1.23	27.5
J. Latz (H, 6)	1.0	0	2	2.59	1.18	4.0
D. Robertson (H, 17)	1.0	0	2	3.48	1.04	4.0
B. Burke	1.0	1	2	6.75	1.80	3.0

PITCHERS	IP
J. Gray (W, 3-3)	6.0
J. Latz (H, 6)	1.0
D. Robertson (H, 17)	1.0
B. Burke	1.0

Pitches-Strikes - M. Wacha 74-52, W. Smith 11-8, C. Stratton 15-9, A. Zerpa 23-14, N. Anderson 9-6
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - M. Wacha 4-2, W. Smith 1-1, C. Stratton 2-0, A. Zerpa 3-1
Batters Faced - M. Wacha 19, W. Smith 4, C. Stratton 4, A. Zerpa 6, N. Anderson 2

Pitches-Strikes - J. Gray 72-51, J. Latz 16-11, D. Robertson 14-10, B. Burke 12-10
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - J. Gray 4-7, D. Robertson 1-0, B. Burke 1-0
Batters Faced - J. Gray 20, J. Latz 3, D. Robertson 3, B. Burke 4

.J. GrayJon Gray
P
6.0 IP, 3 SO, 72 P
.W. LangfordWyatt Langford
LF
2-4, R, 4 RBI, HR

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Royals KC42-36	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
Rangers TEX36-40	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	X	6	7	0

Globe Life FieldArlington, TX

HITTERS	AB	H	SO	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	FPTS
A. Frazier RF	3	1	0	0	.211	.297	.299	.596	1.0
a- N. Velazquez PH	1	1	0	0	.203	.278	.371	.649	1.0
B. Witt SS	4	0	0	3	.314	.362	.537	.899	0.0
V. Pasquantino DH	4	0	2	1	.234	.316	.406	.722	-1.0
S. Perez 1B	3	0	0	0	.283	.356	.460	.816	0.0
N. Loftin 2B	3	0	2	0	.239	.339	.304	.644	-1.0
M. Melendez LF	3	0	2	0	.178	.242	.362	.604	-1.0
M. Garcia 3B	3	0	1	0	.238	.290	.349	.640	-0.5
F. Fermin C	3	0	0	0	.288	.336	.424	.760	0.0
G. Hampson CF	3	1	2	0	.288	.333	.365	.699	0.0
Total	30	3	9	4	-	-	-	-	-

HITTERS	AB
A. Frazier RF	3
a- N. Velazquez PH	1
B. Witt SS	4
V. Pasquantino DH	4
S. Perez 1B	3
N. Loftin 2B	3
M. Melendez LF	3
M. Garcia 3B	3
F. Fermin C	3
G. Hampson CF	3
Total	30

a-singled for Frazier in the 9th

HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	HR	BB	SO	LOB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	FPTS
M. Semien 2B	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	.252	.318	.416	.735	2.0
C. Seager SS	4	1	1	0	0	0	2	0	.252	.340	.440	.780	1.0
J. Smith 3B	3	1	2	1	1	0	0	0	.304	.393	.469	.862	7.0
A. Garcia RF	4	1	1	1	0	0	1	2	.213	.273	.399	.672	2.5
N. Lowe 1B	2	1	0	0	0	2	0	1	.257	.355	.342	.697	5.0
W. Langford LF	4	1	2	4	1	0	0	2	.254	.313	.368	.681	10.0
J. Heim C	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	3	.226	.281	.329	.610	0.0
T. Jankowski DH	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	.205	.258	.259	.517	-0.5
L. Taveras CF	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	.211	.277	.326	.603	-0.5
Total	31	6	7	6	2	3	7	13	-	-	-	-	-

HITTERS	AB
M. Semien 2B	4
C. Seager SS	4
J. Smith 3B	3
A. Garcia RF	4
N. Lowe 1B	2
W. Langford LF	4
J. Heim C	3
T. Jankowski DH	4
L. Taveras CF	3
Total	31

Runners left in scoring position, 2-Out - B. Witt

HR - J. Smith (6), W. Langford (3)
SH - J. Smith (2)
RBI - J. Smith (30), A. Garcia (41), W. Langford 4 (30)
Runners left in scoring position, 2-Out - T. Jankowski 2 (2)

SB - N. Lowe (2)

DP - (Witt-Perez)
E - N. Loftin (3)

PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA	WHIP	FPTS
M. Wacha (L, 4-6)	5.0	3	1	1	1	5	1	4.07	1.22	7.5
W. Smith	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4.94	1.35	2.0
C. Stratton	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	4.68	1.19	2.0
A. Zerpa	0.1	3	5	5	1	0	1	3.49	1.38	-8.0
N. Anderson	0.2	0	0	0	0	2	0	4.13	1.55	3.0
Total	8.0	7	6	6	3	7	2	-	-	-

PITCHERS	IP
M. Wacha (L, 4-6)	5.0
W. Smith	1.0
C. Stratton	1.0
A. Zerpa	0.1
N. Anderson	0.2
Total	8.0

PITCHERS	IP	H	SO	ERA	WHIP	FPTS
J. Gray (W, 3-3)	6.0	2	3	3.03	1.23	27.5
J. Latz (H, 6)	1.0	0	2	2.59	1.18	4.0
D. Robertson (H, 17)	1.0	0	2	3.48	1.04	4.0
B. Burke	1.0	1	2	6.75	1.80	3.0
Total	9.0	3	9	-	-	-

PITCHERS	IP
J. Gray (W, 3-3)	6.0
J. Latz (H, 6)	1.0
D. Robertson (H, 17)	1.0
B. Burke	1.0
Total	9.0

Pitches-Strikes - M. Wacha 74-52, W. Smith 11-8, C. Stratton 15-9, A. Zerpa 23-14, N. Anderson 9-6
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - M. Wacha 4-2, W. Smith 1-1, C. Stratton 2-0, A. Zerpa 3-1
Batters Faced - M. Wacha 19, W. Smith 4, C. Stratton 4, A. Zerpa 6, N. Anderson 2

Pitches-Strikes - J. Gray 72-51, J. Latz 16-11, D. Robertson 14-10, B. Burke 12-10
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - J. Gray 4-7, D. Robertson 1-0, B. Burke 1-0
Batters Faced - J. Gray 20, J. Latz 3, D. Robertson 3, B. Burke 4

SCORING

ALL PLAYS

4TH INNING
Smith homered to right 0 1
8TH INNING
Garcia reached on fielder's choice to pitcher, Semien scored, Seager to third 0 2
Langford homered to left, Lowe, Garcia and Seager scored 0 6

4TH INNING
	Smith homered to right	0	1

8TH INNING
	Garcia reached on fielder's choice to pitcher, Semien scored, Seager to third	0	2
	Langford homered to left, Lowe, Garcia and Seager scored	0	6

1ST INNING
Royals
J. Gray Pitching:
A. Frazier: Strike looking, Ball, Frazier flied out to center
B. Witt: Strike swinging, Strike looking, Witt lined out to center
V. Pasquantino: Ball, Ball, Pasquantino flied out to deep right
Middle of the 1st (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
Rangers
M. Wacha Pitching:
M. Semien: Semien grounded out to third
C. Seager: Ball, Foul, Foul, Ball, Strike swinging, Seager struck out swinging
J. Smith: Strike looking, Strike swinging, Ball, Foul, Foul, Ball, Smith fouled out to first
End of the 1st (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
2ND INNING
Royals
J. Gray Pitching:
S. Perez: Strike looking, Perez flied out to left
N. Loftin: Strike looking, Strike (foul tip), Ball, Strike looking, Loftin struck out looking
M. Melendez: Ball, Strike looking, Foul, Ball, Foul tip, Melendez struck out on foul tip
Middle of the 2nd (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
Rangers
M. Wacha Pitching:
A. Garcia: Garcia singled to right
N. Lowe: Ball, Ball, Ball, Ball, Lowe walked, Garcia to second
W. Langford: Strike looking, Strike looking, Ball, Langford lined out to right, Garcia to third
J. Heim: Strike looking, Foul, Ball, Strike swinging, Heim struck out swinging
T. Jankowski: Strike swinging, Foul, Ball, Lowe stole second, Foul, Ball, Foul, Foul, Jankowski grounded out to pitcher
End of the 2nd (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
3RD INNING
Royals
J. Gray Pitching:
M. Garcia: Ball, Ball, Ball, Strike looking, Garcia grounded out to third
F. Fermin: Ball, Strike looking, Strike looking, Ball, Foul, Fermin flied out to shallow center
G. Hampson: Strike looking, Hampson singled to center
A. Frazier: Ball, Pickoff attempt, Strike swinging, Frazier singled to right, Hampson to third
B. Witt: Strike swinging, Witt lined out to pitcher
Middle of the 3rd (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
Rangers
M. Wacha Pitching:
L. Taveras: Strike looking, Strike swinging, Taveras lined out to right
M. Semien: Semien flied out to deep left
C. Seager: Foul, Strike swinging, Strike swinging, Seager struck out swinging
End of the 3rd (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
4TH INNING
Royals
J. Gray Pitching:
V. Pasquantino: Pasquantino lined out to center
S. Perez: Strike looking, Perez flied out to deep left
N. Loftin: Strike swinging, Strike swinging, Loftin flied out to left
Middle of the 4th (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
Rangers
M. Wacha Pitching:
J. Smith: Ball, Strike swinging, Ball, Foul, Ball, Smith homered to right
A. Garcia: Ball, Strike swinging, Strike looking, Ball, Strike looking, Garcia struck out looking
N. Lowe: Lowe lined out to center
W. Langford: Ball, Ball, Strike looking, Strike looking, Langford reached on an infield single to shortstop
J. Heim: Foul, Strike swinging, Ball, Pickoff attempt, Foul, Foul, Foul, Heim grounded out to first
End of the 4th (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
5TH INNING
Royals
J. Gray Pitching:
M. Melendez: Melendez flied out to left
M. Garcia: Strike looking, Strike looking, Ball, Ball, Foul, Foul, Ball, Garcia grounded out to third
F. Fermin: Foul, Strike looking, Fermin grounded out to third
Middle of the 5th (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
Rangers
M. Wacha Pitching:
T. Jankowski: Foul, Jankowski popped out to shortstop
L. Taveras: Ball, Ball, Foul, Strike swinging, Strike swinging, Taveras struck out swinging
M. Semien: Strike swinging, Semien lined out to first
End of the 5th (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
6TH INNING
Royals
J. Gray Pitching:
G. Hampson: Ball, Strike looking, Foul, Ball, Strike looking, Hampson struck out looking
A. Frazier: Strike looking, Strike looking, Ball, Foul, Ball, Foul, Frazier grounded out to first
B. Witt: Ball, Strike swinging, Ball, Witt popped out to third
Middle of the 6th (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
Rangers
Will Smith relieved Michael Wacha
C. Seager: Seager grounded out to second
J. Smith: Ball, Foul, Ball, Smith singled to shallow left
A. Garcia: Strike looking, Strike swinging, Ball, Garcia lined out to center
N. Lowe: Strike looking, Lowe flied out to shallow center
End of the 6th (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
7TH INNING
Royals
Jacob Latz relieved Jon Gray
V. Pasquantino: Strike looking, Ball, Foul, Intentional ball, Strike swinging, Pasquantino struck out swinging
S. Perez: Strike swinging, Strike swinging, Ball, Perez popped out to second
N. Loftin: Strike looking, Strike looking, Ball, Foul, Ball, Ball, Foul, Strike looking, Loftin struck out looking
Middle of the 7th (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error)
Rangers
Chris Stratton relieved Will Smith
W. Langford: Strike looking, Langford popped out to second
J. Heim: Ball, Ball, Strike looking, Ball, Ball, Heim walked
T. Jankowski: Strike looking, Strike looking, Jankowski reached on fielder's choice to shortstop, Heim to second on 2nd baseman Loftin throwing error
L. Taveras: Ball, Foul, Ball, Foul, Taveras grounded into double play shortstop to first, Jankowski out at second
End of the 7th (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
8TH INNING
Royals
David Robertson relieved Jacob Latz
M. Melendez: Strike looking, Strike looking, Strike swinging, Melendez struck out swinging
M. Garcia: Ball, Strike looking, Strike looking, Ball, Strike looking, Garcia struck out looking
F. Fermin: Strike looking, Foul, Ball, Ball, Foul, Fermin grounded out to shortstop
Middle of the 8th (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
Rangers
Angel Zerpa relieved Chris Stratton
M. Semien: Ball, Ball, Semien singled to left center
C. Seager: Strike looking, Ball, Seager singled to shallow left, Semien to second
J. Smith: Foul, Smith hit sacrifice bunt to third, Semien to third, Seager to second
A. Garcia: Strike looking, Garcia reached on fielder's choice to pitcher, Semien scored, Seager to third
N. Lowe: Ball, Strike looking, Foul, Ball, Ball, Ball, Lowe walked, Garcia to second
W. Langford: Foul, Strike looking, Ball, Ball, Foul, Foul, Langford homered to left, Lowe, Garcia and Seager scored
Nick Anderson relieved Angel Zerpa
J. Heim: Ball, Strike swinging, Ball, Ball, Foul, Strike swinging, Heim struck out swinging
T. Jankowski: Strike swinging, Strike looking, Strike swinging, Jankowski struck out swinging
End of the 8th (5 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
9TH INNING
Royals
Brock Burke relieved David Robertson
G. Hampson: Strike looking, Ball, Foul, Strike swinging, Hampson struck out swinging
Nelson Velazquez hit for Adam Frazier
N. Velazquez: Strike looking, Velazquez singled to left
B. Witt: Foul, Witt fouled out to first
V. Pasquantino: Strike looking, Ball, Foul, Strike looking, Pasquantino struck out looking
Middle of the 9th (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)

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Gray pitches 2-hit ball over 5 innings and Langford hits grand slam to lift Rangers over Royals 6-0