Jurickson Profar powers Rangers past Athletics as Elvis Andrus' return draws near

Elvis Andrus could be back in the Rangers' lineup as soon as next weekend.

That's good news for just about everybody except Jurickson Profar.

Just when it appears Profar is reclaiming his future star swing, Texas' best player is ready to return to the spot he's occupied for the past nine seasons.

Profar homered twice and drove in a career-high five runs as the Rangers powered their way past the Oakland Athletics 8-2 Wednesday night at Globe Life Park.

Texas homered four times in the first four innings, including Profar's two-run homer to right field in the first inning. Joey Gallo followed with a solo homer into the upper right field porch (110 mph, 429 feet) to give Bartolo Colon a 3-0 lead.

Profar homered again in the third inning. He homered in three consecutive at-bats going back to Tuesday's sixth inning. He later walked but walks don't count as official at-bats.

Ronald Guzman's two-run homer in the fourth pushed Colon's lead to 6-0.

Colon earned the win to tie Juan Marichal with 243 career wins, the most by a native of the Dominican Republic. Only Dennis Martinez (245 wins) has more wins among Latin American pitchers.

Colon held the A's the two runs (a two-run homer by Khris Davis in the fifth) over five innings. The Rangers swept the two-game series, their first sweep of 2018.

Profar was hitting in the cleanup spot for the second time this season. In those two games he has three of his six home runs. His bases-loaded single just beyond the reach of the A's shortstop Marcus Semien in the seventh made it 8-2.

"I'm just trying to stay calm and just get better every day," Profar said of hitting. "I've been doing good with that. Baseball is always going to be fun. But it's going to be even better when you're playing every day."

Profar has played in 57 games this season. The most he's played in a season was 90 in 2016. Knowing he'll be in the starting lineup has helped, he said.

"That's very big. I come to the field and keep working on the things I want to get better at and not worrying if I'm playing tonight," he said. "This is the first time I'm getting this chance, and it's feeling good."

Andrus, who fractured his right elbow when he was hit by a pitch on April 12, is eligible to come off the disabled list June 11, an off day.

Andrus expects to start a week-long rehab assignment with Double A Frisco next Monday. The RoughRiders are home from Saturday to June 16. He's throwing at full strength but still working on getting his timing back at the plate.

"It’s going really good," Andrus said. "We're just making I don’t have any problems. I understand there's going to be soreness in my muscle and tendons. But as long as the bone is good."

Rangers manager Jeff Banister said Andrus is unlikely to be in the lineup on daily basis once he does return while he gets back into the routine of playing night after night. Andrus played in at least 145 regular-season games in his previous nine seasons. This is his first time on the DL. He was hitting .327 with two homers and five RBIs in 14 games before the injury.

"He feels good. I know that he’s eager," Banister said. "He’s getting really close. It comes down to how his arm feels throwing."

The Rangers have homered nine times in the past two games. They hit five in Tuesday's win.

Four Rangers relievers combined to hold Oakland scoreless on four hits behind Colon, who improved to 3-3 with the win.

This story was originally published June 6, 2018 at 10:45 PM with the headline "Jurickson Profar powers Rangers past Athletics as Elvis Andrus' return draws near."