ARLINGTON, Texas -- Cody Freeman and Michael Helman had big league firsts on consecutive pitches for the Texas Rangers after Josh Jung homered in his first at-bat back in the majors.
Freeman lined a tiebreaking RBI double into the right-center gap for his first big league hit in the fifth inning of the Rangers' 7-2 win over the Athletics on Monday night. On the very next pitch from rookie left-hander Jacob Lopez, with the crowd still buzzing, leadoff hitter Helman's first career homer was a three-run shot.