ARLINGTON, Texas - Wyatt Langford treated every plate appearance like a negotiation Toronto could not win.
The Rangers left fielder finished 2-for-2 with three walks, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base Friday night at Globe Life Field, per ESPN's box. Texas beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-1, reached .500 for a majors-leading 23rd time, and pulled even with Houston atop the American League West after the Astros lost to Atlanta 6-2, the Associated Press reported.
Langford's line was volume more than fireworks. He did not hit a home run. He simply refused to make an out. Two singles, three free passes, a steal, and a bases-loaded walk that pushed Texas' lead to 6-1 in the sixth - five times on base in a September game that tightened both the division and wild-card boards.
Four-run second, then the walks keep coming
Texas opened the scoring in the second when Evan Carter's bases-loaded grounder plated Langford and Jake Burger scored on shortstop Ernie Clement's throwing error, the AP wrote. Ezequiel Duran's sacrifice fly and Corey Seager's RBI double stretched it to 4-0 before Dylan Cease could settle in.
Cease (11-6) walked a season-high six among his first 15 batters and was pulled with two outs in the third after 38 balls and 36 strikes. Five of Texas' seven runs were unearned; Toronto walked 10 and committed three throwing errors, two by third baseman Kazuma Okamoto.
Langford was in the middle of that traffic - he stole second off Cease and catcher Alejandro Kirk, then kept reaching against the Blue Jays' parade of relievers.
In the sixth, Langford walked with the bases loaded to score Duran. In the eighth, Burger doubled him home for the final 7-1 margin. ESPN's box lists Langford with three walks and no strikeouts; CBS Sports' box matches that on-base line.
Race math after a 7-1 night
Texas improved to 77-77 and sits one game behind the Chicago White Sox for the third AL wild card, though Chicago holds the tiebreaker, the AP noted. Toronto fell to 76-78 and is two games back in the wild-card race.
The Rangers would still need to win the West outright to finish ahead of Houston on a tie, but Friday's result erased the Astros' cushion for a night.
