Rangers’ offense explodes in 11-5 victory over Rockies

Corey Seager homered for the first time since returning from the injured list and Jon Gray turned in a solid start as the Texas Rangers rolled to an 11-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.

Gray was facing his former team for the first time.

The Rangers finished the day with 15 hits, including three-hit games by Seager, Marcus Semien and Nathaniel Lowe.

Gray (4-1) earned the victory, although his day looked dicey out of the gate.

Gray faced a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the first inning but worked out of it unscathed. He went on to have a solid start against his former team, allowing one run on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts over five innings. Gray pitched with the Rockies from 2015-21.

Colorado starter Kyle Freeland (4-5), meanwhile, lasted just two innings on a day the defense didn't play its best.

Freeland was charged with eight runs (five earned) on nine hits with no strikeouts. It was his shortest outing of the season and his shortest since leaving a Sept. 1, 2021, start in the second inning with an injury.

The Rangers scored four runs in the first inning, including one run on a passed ball. Texas had another four-run inning in the second inning, highlighted by RBI hits by Lowe and Robbie Grossman, who had three RBIs on the day.

The Rangers extended their lead with a solo home run by Ezequiel Duran in the fifth and a two-run shot by Seager in the sixth. Both of those home runs came against Rockies left-hander Fernando Abad.

Colorado scored one run in the fourth inning, three in the eighth and one in the ninth. Harold Castro drove in two runs while Jurickson Profar had three hits for the Rockies.

The Rangers have won the first two games of the three-game series, and they will go for their third sweep of the season on Sunday afternoon.