WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Shea Langeliers crushed the longest home run in Major League Baseball this season, a 467-foot rocket, as the Athletics edged the Texas Rangers 6-5 on Wednesday to claim sole possession of first place in the American League West for the first time since June 19, 2021.
The Athletics (10-8) now lead the Rangers (9-9) by one game in the division standings. The franchise, which plans to relocate to Las Vegas in 2028, has not held the division lead this late in a season since their playoff run in 2021.
Trailing 2-1 in the sixth inning, Lawrence Butler led off with a single off reliever Jalen Beeks (1-1). With two outs, Langeliers stepped in and launched a towering shot to center field, giving the A’s a 4-2 advantage. The blast was the longest in the majors this season.
Hogan Harris (1-0) earned the win after entering with one out in the sixth and retiring both batters he faced. Starter J.T. Ginn allowed two runs on two hits and four walks over 5⅓ innings. Joel Kuhnel recorded the final out of the eighth and pitched a perfect ninth for his third save in six appearances this season.
Tyler Soderstrom walked to lead off the seventh, and Jacob Wilson followed with a two-run homer, his first of the season, to extend the lead to 6-2. Soderstrom also had an RBI double, and Denzel Clarke added a run-scoring single.
The Rangers mounted a late rally. Corey Seager hit a two-run homer in the third inning, and Jake Burger launched a three-run shot with two outs in the eighth to cut the deficit to 6-5. But Kuhnel shut the door in the ninth.
Texas starter Kumar Rocker allowed two runs on four hits and four walks while striking out six over 4⅓ innings.
The four-game series concludes Thursday, with Jack Leiter (1-1, 4.91 ERA) scheduled to start for Texas against Jacob Lopez (1-1, 7.43) for the Athletics.
