Rougned Odor was on thin ice days ago. He homered again Sunday in Texas Rangers’ win.
Rougned Odor was informed last week that he wasn’t an everyday player anymore and would have to earn his playing time the rest of the 2020 season.
Apparently, he has taken it to heart.
The second baseman launched a three-run home run in the sixth inning Sunday, one of three Texas Rangers homers on the day as they beat the Oakland A’s 6-3 and secured only their second winning homestand of the season.
Lance Lynn allowed one run on three hits in seven innings for his 10th quality start in 11 outings this season. He struck out 10, in the process collecting the 1,400th strikeout of his career, and at one point retired 17 in a row.
The last-place Rangers split four games with first-place Oakland after taking 2 of 3 from the Los Angeles Angels. The Rangers entered the homestand on a six-game losing streak and with the worst record in baseball.
“I like where our offense is at,” manager Chris Woodward said. “We get a couple good at-bats and we’re finishing off rallies with big hits. I think there’s a different kind of energy. We’ve got a lot of young guys in there. They’re going to get exposed at times, but they also have really live bodies and really live bats.”
The game was tied 1-1 when Odor connected for his third straight game. Activated from the injured list Wednesday, Odor drove in 10 runs in five games and eight in the last three.
After going 0 for 7 in his first two games, he finished by going 3 for 10. It’s been all-or-nothing, but that’s better than the nothing-or-nothing Odor had been providing.
“He looks better,” Woodward said. “I challenged him to force me to play him, and if he keeps hitting three-run homers I think he’s going to force me to play him. But I want to see the production in other at-bats as well.”
Derek Dietrich led off the second inning with a home run to erase a 1-0 A’s lead, and Jeff Mathis extended the Rangers’ lead to 6-1 with a two-run shot in the seventh.
The A’s brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in the ninth, but Rafael Montero struck out Seth Brown to end it and give the Rangers a 4-3 mark on their seven-game homestand.
They went 5-1 in their second homestand of the season, sweeping three from the Angels and 2 of 3 from the Seattle Mariners.
