Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager (29)’s bat was on fire.
Seager started at second base against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in Florida, U.S., on Nov. 11 and went 5-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and four RBIs to lead the Rangers to an 8-4 victory. It was the first time in 819 games since his 2015 debut that Seeger had five hits in a game. He raised his season batting average to .352 from .325 before the game, and his on-base percentage (.403) and slugging percentage (.617) combined for a 1.020 OPS.
On this day, Seager came out firing. After leading off the first inning with a single to left, Seager hit a two-run double with one out in the top of the second for a 1-0 lead. He pulled a three-pitch changeup from Tampa Bay pitcher Taj Bradley into the right-field seats. With two outs in the fourth inning and a 4-0 lead, he blasted a two-run homer over the right field fence.
With two outs in the sixth and the bases loaded in the eighth for a 6-4 lead, he reached base in both games for his first career five-hit game. “He’s got a really good swing,” Texas manager Buster Boggs said. “I was surprised that he hadn’t had a five-hit 메이저사이트 game before, because you’d think with how good he is, he’d have done it already.” After going on the disabled list on April 13 with a left hamstring strain, Seager returned on April 18. Since then, he’s been hot at the plate. In his last seven games, he’s batting .433 (13-for-30) with two home runs and nine RBIs. He also has a .469 on-base percentage and a .767 slugging percentage. His on-base pace is also stellar, as he has 33 RBI in 32 games this season.
Seager was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 18th overall pick in the first round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. He was named the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year in 2016, and in 2017, he was named an All-Star for the second straight year and earned a Silver Slugger Award as the National League’s second baseman. He became a free agent before the 2022 season, signing a 10-year, $325 million ($42.4 billion) deal with Texas. Last year, the first season of his contract, he showed raw firepower with 33 home runs (151 games) and a .245 batting average, and he’s been just as impactful at the plate this season, barring injury absences.