Jonah Heim did something no rookie has ever done in Texas Rangers’ walk-off victory
Even when your team is out of the race, baseball can be fun.
Jonah Heim has made sure of that the past few days at Globe Life Field.
The Texas Rangers catcher, who was serving as the designated hitter Sunday, hit his second consecutive walk-off home run to give the Rangers a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners. He did it in the 10th inning Saturday night.
He’s the first rookie in major league history to have walk-off homers in consecutive games, according to Elias Sports Bureau, and the first Rangers player to do it. The last player to do it was Albert Pujols in June 2011.
The last time a Rangers player had multiple walk-off homers in a season was Nelson Cruz in 2009. Heim had four homers in the three-game series against the Mariners. He now has eight homers this season, the most ever by a Rangers rookie catcher. Jarrod Saltalamacchia held the previous record with seven in 2007.
It’s the first time the Rangers have won consecutive games since June 29 and first series win since they took two of three from Oakland July 1.
“If I keep doing this it’s going to be a pretty good year,” Heim said. “What we did in the ninth, it was unbelievable. We’re just here to play hard and try to win some games. It’s really fun to be a part of.”
The Rangers trailed 3-1 entering the bottom of the ninth. Nathaniel Lowe singled in front of Andy Ibanez, who tied the game with a two-run homer to the left-field corner. Heim then sent most of the 23,664 in attendance home happy with his game-winner.
The Rangers host the Los Angeles Angles for a four-game series beginning Monday.
“I’m just happy for the guys,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “Just the energy that brings to the clubhouse and these fans. Obviously, it’s been a rough year, but those two games are pretty special.”
This story was originally published August 1, 2021 at 5:09 PM.
