Marcus Semien finally hits his first homer with Rangers — in grand style
(AP photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
Well, Marcus Semien would probably say that his first home run with the Texas Rangers was not worth the wait, coming in his new team’s 45th game of the season and his first season after signing at seven-year, $175 million contract.
But he wasn’t going to go the whole season without a home run.
He finally cleared the fence Saturday in his hometown, where he became an MLB star. And, just for the fun of it, that first Rangers home run was a grand slam.
He connected in a six-run fifth inning that lifted the Rangers to an easy 11-4 victory at Oakland Coliseum. He batted in the sixth with the bases loaded again but settled for a walk to force in another run.
“I’ve been trying, but it was nice to see that one go out,” Semien said on the postgame TV show. “It’s been a while. It felt good.”
Semien said that the victory is more important than his grand slam, and here’s why: The Rangers are now only one-game below .500 at 22-23 after their fourth straight win.
“I’m very aware of that, and I think the whole clubhouse is aware of that,” manager Chris Woodward said.
Semien connected against Jacob Lemoine, a former Rangers draftee, and just cleared the wall in right-center field near the 388-feet sign.
His teammates knew it was his first homer, too. They gave him the silent treatment as he came into the dugout.
“He’s been swinging the bat well,” Woodward said. “That was a big hit. We needed a little bit of breathing room there.”
Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia hit back-to-back homers in the third Nate Lowe collected an RBI triple to break scoreless tie ad stake Taylor Hearn to a 4-0 lead. Hearn allowed three runs (two earned) in a season-high six innings.
Jeff Wilson, jeff@rangerstoday.com
