Rangers place Wyatt Langford (hamstring) on IL

It’s not an ideal development. Langford has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball since returning from the injured list earlier this month, hitting .317 (26-for-82) with seven homers, 16 RBI and three steals over 20 games since June 5. The hope for the Rangers and fantasy managers is that the decision was made out of an abundance of caution. He’s likely to undergo further evaluation and possibly imaging to determine whether a trip to the injured list will be necessary. An update on his status should arrive before the end of the weekend.

Langford is a man on a mission right now. He singled to lead-off the game and then came around to score two batters later. Then, he reached on an infield single in his next at-bat and was thrown out trying to stretch it to second when the ball squeaked away. He smoked a double his next time up and already had three hits by the fourth inning. Out of 20 games since returning from the injured list, he’s hit safely in 15 of them and is trying his best to put his slow start to the season behind him.

Langford did his damage off of Kevin Gausman in the third inning of this one, crushing a 401-foot (101.7-mph EV) three-run shot that increased the Rangers’ early lead to 4-0. That would be his only hit in the ballgame. For the season, the dynamic 24-year-old is now slashing .268/.315/.490 with eight homers, 20 RBI and zero stolen bases in 253 plate appearances.

Since coming off the injured list, Langford has gone 22-for-72 (.306) with six home runs and 13 RBI. That comes with a 17/6 K/BB ratio and one steal in 18 games, but this is still looking a lot more like the version of Langford fantasy managers were hoping for on draft day.

Although his recent exit velocity numbers aren’t great, Langford has three homers in four games and is batting .317/.369/.633 with five homers in 15 games this month. Today’s homer was a no-doubter, leaving his bat at 105 mph and traveling a projected 403 feet to left.

Langford is now slashing .255/.314/.489 on the month. He belted his third homer of June in the bottom of the eighth inning off Padres reliever Jason Adam to give the Rangers a much-needed insurance run on a night where the ball was flying out of Globe Life Field. Langford, who has now homered in back-to-back games, also delivered an RBI double in the fourth inning and has five extra-base hits on the month.

Langford drove in runs all three games against the Red Sox, including the team’s lone run on Friday. He finishes the series 6-for-13, raising his OPS from .606 to .682.

Langford opened the scoring by punching an RBI single into shallow center field against Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez with two outs in the opening frame. The 24-year-old outfielder has notched back-to-back multi-hit performances and is batting .250 (8-for-32) with one homer and three RBI in eight games since returning from the injured list back on June 5.

Langford was responsible for the only run the Rangers scored on the night. The outfielder doubled home Joc Pederson in the first inning in what was looking like a promising start for the Rangers, whose offense only managed three hits the rest of the evening. Langford is still working his way back from a forearm injury that sidelined him for six weeks. He’s slashing just .185/.241/.370 since returning and shouldn’t be counted for fantasy purposes at this time.

Langford’s home run was his second. He hit a solo shot off Joey Cantillo in the fourth inning. Langford returned from the injured list on Friday after spending six weeks on the injured list with a forearm strain. He’ll occupy the leadoff spot for the Rangers for the foreseeable future.