ARLINGTON, Texas - Josh Jung answered the Mets' first-inning run before the home crowd settled in.
Francisco Lindor doubled to open Thursday's finale at Globe Life Field, and Carson Benge's two-out single put New York ahead 1-0. Justin Foscue reached, and Jung drove a fly ball over the left-field wall for a two-run homer - his 12th of the season - that flipped the score to 2-1. He was not done.
ESPN's box score shows Jung finished 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, two RBI, and no strikeouts in Texas' 3-1 win over the Mets.
The Rangers halted a skid that had reached three straight and finished their home schedule still sharing the AL West lead. The Associated Press listed Texas and Houston both at 79-80 entering the final three contests; the Astros hold the season-series tiebreaker after winning later Thursday in Sacramento.
Contact after the injured list
Jung has been swinging like the version Texas waited on. The AP noted a .341 mark (15-for-44) over 11 games after his Sept. 12 return from a left calf strain that cost him 47 games. Thursday's line pushed his season average to .299, per ESPN.
Corey Seager added insurance in the sixth. Snapping an 0-for-15 slide, he led off against Mets reliever Jefry Yan with his 19th home run, a solo shot to right that made it 3-1. Seager finished 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. Wyatt Langford collected two of Texas' other hits.
Five innings, then the bullpen
Kumar Rocker (6-11) worked five innings for the win, allowing one run on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts on 74 pitches. The Mets managed little after Benge's early RBI. Tyler Alexander, Chase Silseth, and Robert Garcia each threw a scoreless inning.
Jordan Montgomery closed with a clean ninth for save No. 2 in the majors; the AP noted his long career has been built mostly as a starter.
