Josh Jung was back in the Texas Rangers' lineup Saturday night at Chase Field, batting third and playing third base for the first time since a left calf strain knocked him out in late July.
The return mattered immediately: Jung went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored in Texas' 6-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, Sports Illustrated's Matt Postins reported, as the Rangers evened their three-game series in Phoenix.
The Associated Press, in a game story carried by NBC 5, framed the victory around a six-run fifth inning that flipped a 1-1 game. Jung's single was part of that surge. Sports Illustrated detailed that his RBI knock scored Elias Diaz and that Jung later came around on Ezequiel Duran's two-run single, the kind of multi-hit night the club had been missing while he rehabbed.
From Round Rock back to the three-hole
Texas activated Jung from the 10-day injured list before Saturday's game, Sports Illustrated reported in a separate transactions note, while also bringing back right-hander Nathan Eovaldi from the 15-day list. Catcher Logan O'Hoppe and pitcher Adam Macko were optioned to Triple-A Round Rock to open the spots.
Jung's path back ran through four rehab games with Round Rock on a Salt Lake City trip, per Sports Illustrated. He served as the designated hitter in two games, then worked at third base Thursday and Friday, including eight innings at the position Friday. That defensive checkpoint was the final hurdle before activation.
Before the calf injury, Jung had been one of Texas' steadiest hitters. Sports Illustrated listed his pre-injury line at .294/.361/.441 with nine home runs and 35 RBI in 92 games. Without him, the Rangers had mixed Ezequiel Duran and Cody Freeman at third depending on the opposing pitcher.
Jung's return restores a middle-of-the-order bat who can also stabilize the left side of the infield when healthy.
What the fifth inning looked like from his spot
Wyatt Langford led off the decisive fifth with his 17th home run of the season, the AP reported. A close play at first involving Corey Seager - first-base umpire Bill Miller ruling pitcher Brandon Pfaadt off the bag - survived Arizona's challenge when the video review was inconclusive, keeping the inning alive with the score tied.
