ARLINGTON, Texas _ Perhaps Texas Rangers' center fielder Carlos Gomez will keep the rooster crowing. Before his first at-bat Thursday afternoon in the homestand finale against the Toronto Blue Jays, Gomez came to the plate to the sounds of roosters crowing. He promptly ripped a single up the middle. As he stood on first base, again Globe Life Park public address announcer Chuck Morgan played rooster crows.
Most of those in attendance, including in the press box and watching on television, wondered, some of us aloud, what in the heck was that about?
By the time the Rangers had wrapped up an 11-4 win over the Blue Jays, Gomez had homered twice and tied a career-high with five RBIs.
So the rooster call stays. Even if it was a mistake.
Gomez told somebody he wanted the rooster crow to play for Joey Gallo's at-bats. Gallo in Spanish is rooster.
"So I wanted to put it up to make fun of him. They confused it and put it on mine. I was thinking after the first at-bat, I need to come up (to the plate) with the rooster," Gomez joked.
There's nothing too funny about their next 13 games.
The Rangers went 4-3 on their seven-game homestand, including 2-2 against the Blue Jays to get back to .500 at 36-36. They begin a 10-game road trip Friday night with the first of three against the Yankees. The trip includes four at the defending American League champion Indians and three against the White Sox. They return to Arlington for a three-game series with the Red Sox before the All-Star break.
Speaking of the All-Star Game, the way Gomez has played since returning from the disabled list has been All-Star worthy. He has five homers in six games since coming back Friday. Before going on the DL, he has four homers in 38 games. In his last 10 games, Gomez is hitting .432 with four doubles, five homers and 15 RBIs. It's his longest hit streak since 2014. Thursday was his fifth-career multi-homer game and second with the Rangers since last September.
"I've seen this before with Carlos, when he's locked in, he's extremely challenging, he's a true professional hitter with a ton of power," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "The effort by which he got himself back the way he did, but continued to swing the bat while he was down, it seemed like he hadn't missed a step, and today was one of those days that prove it."
Mike Napoli has also been swinging a hot bat since returning from the DL. He has three homers in six starts since coming back the same day as Gomez, including a two-run shot in the second that put the Rangers up 3-0.
"Those guys we were missing, it's kind of nice to go on the road with those guys, especially the way they've been hitting," said Robinson Chirinos, who had his first three extra-base hit game of his career after hitting two doubles and a homer. He added the return of left-hander Cole Hamels, who is likely to be back in the rotation against the Indians. "Things are coming together," Chirinos said.
Martin Perez held the Blue Jays scoreless through four innings but a hit-batter and error led to a two-out, four-run rally in the fifth that pulled the Jays to within 7-4.
The Rangers offense wasn't done, however. Gomez's two-run homer in the seventh and two more runs in the eighth pushed the lead back to seven.
