Corey Seager homers in his return and Higashioka also goes deep as Rangers win 3-2 over Guardians

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Corey Seager hit a go-ahead homer to end a career-worst 0-for-29 slump in his first game for Texas in more than three weeks and Kyle Higashioka also went deep as the Rangers beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-2 on Friday night.

>Seager had missed 19 games since May 13 while on the injured list because of lower back inflammation. His two-run homer in the sixth inning made it 3-2 right after a double by Wyatt Langford, who missed 39 games since April 21 because of a right forearm strain before he was also activated from the IL before the game.

>Guardians rookie starter Parker Messick (6-2) retired 15 of the first 16 batters he faced, including the first 11, before Higashioka homered leading off the sixth. Messick then gave up the extra-base hits to Langford and Seager, and another hit to Josh Jung before a two-out walk ended his night.

>Rangers starter Kumar Rocker struck out five while allowing two runs over five innings before Peyton Gray (2-0) worked 1 2/3 innings. Jacob Latz, their third reliever, worked two innings for his ninth save.

>Travis Bazzana had his first career leadoff homer and finished with three hits for the Guardians. He was stranded at third after a leadoff triple in the fifth.

>Austin Hedges, a backup catcher for the Rangers’ World Series championship team in 2023, put the Guardians up 2-0 with an RBI single in the fourth.

>Seager's 0-for-29 slide included 11 strikeouts. The two-time World Series MVP, still hitting .181 in his 43 games, had been hitless in his previous seven games, also a career worst, since an RBI single on May 6 at Yankee Stadium after he hit a home run earlier in that game.

Up nextTanner Bibbe (0-7, 4.57 ERA) pitches for the Guardians in the middle game of the series Saturday. Rangers right-hander Jack Leiter (3-4, 4.34) tries to win his third start in a row.

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