Rougned Odor Caps Big Weekend in Rangers' 6-3 Victory Over Oakland A's
ARLINGTON, Texas — Over the past couple of weeks, Rougned Odor had an eye infection that put him on the 10-day IL and lost an everyday spot in the lineup.
Now he's doing the best job he possibly can to make everyone forget about why he lost that job in the first place.
In the four-game series with the Oakland Athletics over the weekend, Odor hit three home runs: a two-run homer on Friday, a three-run homer in the first game on Saturday, and a three-run homer that broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning on Sunday afternoon.
Of course, that brings up the question of whether Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward will ride the hot hand or stick with the younger players atop the pecking order.
"I still think there's gonna be a little bit of a dilemma when Willie [Calhoun] comes back," Woodward said. "It's gonna get a little crowded, and I want to see these guys play, so somebody's obviously gonna have to sit."
It may get a little crowded, but Woodward stuck with veteran outfielder Shin-Soo Choo while he was one of the more productive hitters on the roster. With only 17 games remaining, there's only so many at-bats to go around.
"I challenged (Odor) to force me to play him." Woodward said. "If he keeps hitting three-run homers, he's gonna force me to play him. Obviously, I want to see the production in the other at bats as well. But he's had some huge hits for us, there's no question, for the last three days."
On the mound, Lance Lynn continued his stellar season with one of his better performances. Lynn went seven innings, allowing only one run on three hits. He also struck out a season-high 10 hitters.
At one point, Lynn retired 17 A's in a row, bookended by a Marcus Semien double in the first inning and a walk to Semien in the sixth. Lynn still isn't sure it's the best he's felt this season.
“I've had other times where I felt (good)," Lynn said. "Very similar to Colorado. All the pitches were working. I was able to change speeds, move in and out, up and down, and give them different looks and was able to get some quick outs there and rack up some strikeouts also at the same time.”
One play that kept the Rangers in the driver's seat was at the end of Lynn's outing. With two on and two out in the seventh inning, Oakland catcher Jonah Heim hit a hard line drive the other way, but Rangers third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa made a diving catch to thwart the Oakland rally.
“That was awesome," Lynn said. "That run was probably going to score and you're looking at a 4-2 game with maybe the bullpen coming in. It could have been totally different right there.”
The Rangers are off on Monday before they begin their final road trip of the season in Houston on Tuesday. Kyle Cody, Kyle Gibson, and Jordan Lyles are the Rangers' respective probables for the three-game series against the Astros.
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