Yohel Pozo's Big Debut Carries Rangers To 8-6 Victory Over A's

Yohel Pozo has been tearing up all season in Triple-A. In his big league debut, it was just another day at the office.

Chris Halicke | Aug 14, 2021

ARLINGTON, Texas — It was just another game for Yohel Pozo.

The 24-year-old catcher has been raking for the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Friday night was Pozo's first game in the big leagues, and he propelled the Rangers to an 8-6 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

Pozo got his first hit out of the way quickly, swinging at the first pitch he saw, driving it up the middle for a single. In the sixth inning, Pozo was first-pitch swinging again, and cranked a slider up in the zone down the left field line that clanked off the foul pole for a three-run homer, giving Texas a lead they would never surrender.

Pozo went 2-for-4 on the night, only seeing seven pitches. He swung at every single one.

"If it's in the zone, I'm going to swing," Pozo said.

The Rangers had a young player come up to the big leagues and have success early with an uber-aggressive approach last season. Anderson Tejeda started his career with a bang, posting the same line as Pozo (2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI) in his big league debut. Tejeda crashed back down to Earth, and is now having a hard time staying atop the depth chart at Double-A Frisco.

The difference?

"They are two completely different hitters," said Rangers manager Chris Woodward. "Anderson Tejeda has always had swing and miss. Yohel Pozo doesn't swing and miss. ... I want him to be aggressive with balls around the strike zone. Listen, you're going to see at-bats like at the end there. If they execute pitches on him, he's gonna pop them up. maybe get out, have some weak contact to start the at-bat. But if they throw it in the heart of the plate, he's gonna hammer it. I think that's what makes him good."

The entire Rangers lineup bounced back from being held to one run on two hits on Thursday. Against the A's, the Rangers scored eight runs on 11 hits. Nathaniel Lowe and Charlie Culberson each reached base in four of their five plate appearances, Jason Martin had two hits, and DJ Peters provided big insurance with his first homer in a Rangers uniform — a two-run shot that made the difference in the end.

"Luis [Ortiz] did a good job today in our hitters meeting, just talking about things that we can control," Woodward said. "He's been talking about this for a while, but laid it out for them in a pretty good manner. 'If you're on time, if you get yourself in a good position to hit, you can make quality decisions and you can get your A-swing off.'"

Now, it's about repeating the process.

"We've gotta do the same thing tomorrow, then the day after that," Woodward added. "Obviously for a young team, that's the thing we need to learn how to do. Just be consistent night in and night out."

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Published Aug 14, 2021

CHRIS HALICKE