Game 62: Three Up, Three Down.

It's good when your starting pitcher doesn't throw a single pitch out of the stretch.

The most runs the Rangers have scored at home since April. And that’s not the lead story.

Three Up, Three Down from Texas 9, Detroit 1.

Up First.

Bruce Bochy wouldn’t fully commit on the radio pregame show that Jose Urena would return to the bullpen after the start he was about to make, but it’s a strong likelihood with Jon Gray set to come off the injured list and rejoin the rotation.

Urena pitched tonight like a man who doesn’t want to be moved anywhere. One hit — Justyn-Henry Malloy’s first in the majors, a home run in the sixth that broke up Urena’s perfect game — and a walk to Gio Urshela on his 97th and final pitch. Huge on a night when Texas was looking to avoid a sweep heading into an off-day.

The 32-year-old joined Texas in January on a non-roster deal before earning a long relief role out of camp. Since then, he’s been a really solid glue guy for the club, starting six games, finishing three others, and appearing seven times when he did neither. Batters are hitting just .224 against him when he starts, and his ERA in those games is 2.84.

Urena absolutely shoved tonight and it was a blast to see it, especially from a guy at his career stage.

Up Second.

Jonah Heim and Josh Smith each finished a triple short of a cycle, including third-inning homers for both. The Rangers hadn’t hit multiple home runs in the same frame since April 28 (and hadn’t scored more than six runs in a home game since April 30).

Smith’s importance in relief of Josh Jung this season has been discussed and has been big. He’s going to have a long career, and it’s been a really good time for him to put together a breakout season.

Aside from his big night at the plate, Heim obviously called a great game as well — Urena hardly shook him at all — but I’ll admit I held my breath when he tagged up from second on Travis Jankowski’s fly to right in the sixth. Especially tonight.

Up Three.

Heim’s bomb came on the first pitch thrown by Mason Englert, who will always be a favorite no matter whose uniform he’s in. The greatest challenge of my writing career was also the story I was most afraid to write; once his family entrusted the subject matter to me — on the day we met — I couldn’t bear the thought of getting it wrong. Instead, it’s right up there with the stories I’m most honored to have had the chance to take on.

After Heim’s homer, Englert set down seven of the next eight Rangers he faced before allowing two unearned runs — and going a career-best 3 ⅓ innings.

One Down.

Corey Seager missed 31 days in 2023 with a left hamstring strain. So when he pulled up at first base on his second-inning single to left, grabbing at that same left hamstring, it was impossible not to think bad thoughts, especially the way the season has gone for Texas from a health standpoint.

So when Bruce Bochy said postgame that Seager’s hamstring will not be MRI’d, it almost prompted me to stick this in the “Up” stack. Whether he’ll need to go on the injured list won’t be known before Friday, when the Giants come to town. That’s also the day Justin Foscue will be eligible for activation off the 60-day injured list; he started a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League today.

But hopefully, Seager will be good to go at some point during the weekend series and Foscue, once his rehab assignment is complete, simply gets optioned to Round Rock.

Two Down.

On what was close to the coolest mound visit Bochy has made all year — it probably lags the night he took Cody Bradford out in the eighth inning against the Astros on April 5, but that may be it — Bally decided to give us a roof camera view of Bochy getting to the mound and then cut to commercial two seconds later. Sure would have liked to see the expression on the manager’s and his starting pitcher’s faces in that moment.

Three Down.

It’s nitpicking on a night like this one, but even though Nathaniel Lowe singled twice and walked, neither single was hit particularly hard, nor was a groundout to second (Lowe also fanned once). The thing I’ve noticed more lately, setting aside the statistical slide he’s been on for four weeks, is that it looks like he’s getting tall again coming out of his load, getting out of his legs on the swing and robbing himself of some of the power that’s a big component of his offensive game. Hope I’m wrong.

Due Up.

There are 100 games left in the regular season. The Rangers are 30-32. Can they go 60-40 from here on out to match last year’s 90 wins, which may be what it takes to secure a playoff spot?

Tall task, but there’s a path: get the pitching staff healthy (and therefore deeper) and get the offense back in 2023 form.

Challenging. But not out of the question.