Watch: Rangers Rookie Hits First MLB Home Run
Texas Rangers outfielder Steele Walker needed two games to claim his first Major League hit, which also happened to be his first home run, on Tuesday.
The Rangers were playing the first game of a doubleheader against Cleveland, the result of a rainout of Monday’s scheduled season opener. Steele, who was scheduled to start on Monday, was in the starting lineup on Tuesday as the No. 8 hitter.
Walker, who was called up from the minors before Sunday’s game against Seattle, made his MLB debut at Globe Life Field and went 0-for-4.
On Tuesday, Walker was 0-for-2 to start the game, one that was delayed 90 minutes due to rain.
But, in the seventh inning, Walker ended his 0-for-6 start for his MLB career with a shot over the fence at Progressive Field, pulling it around the right-field foul pole.
Walker isn’t the only Rangers prospect that recently hit his first MLB home run. Ezequiel Duran, who was in the starting lineup on Tuesday, hit his first MLB home run on Sunday against the Mariners.
Walker was acquired by the Rangers in the Nomar Mazara trade and was a second-round pick of the Chicago White Sox 2018. The Mount Pleasant, Texas, native played his club baseball with current Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, who at one time was set to play baseball in the Oakland organization before opting to play football.
The Rangers end their three-game set with the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday before an off-day on Thursday as they prepare for a three-game set at the Chicago White Sox.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook and Twitter.