It looks like Texas Rangers outfielder found his Superman suit in his closet and decided it was good to wear. What else is the explanation for his incredible play in the past two games for the team?
Helman not only hit another home run, but took one away in an incredible play at the fence. It all played a major role in the Rangers' 5-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Helman is on an absolute burner right now. He also smacked a grand slam homer in the Rangers' win on Monday. It's enough to leave some teammates and even Rangers manager Bruce Bochy gobsmacked over his efforts.
"A huge adrenaline rush," Helman said after the game about his recent success. “I couldn’t sleep last night. I had a bunch of adrenaline still going. But it’s cool. It’s fun. I just want to play the game hard, play the game right. When I'm on defense, I'm willing to put my body on the line to go make plays. When you play the game hard, good things usually happen.”
Check out these numbers that Helman has put up over the past 17 games. Helman now has 17 RBIs going back to July 21. As of Tuesday night's victory over the National League Central Division-leading Brewers, Helman became the first Rangers player with five or more homers and 17 or more RBIs within his first 22 since Nathaniel Lowe in 2021 (5 HR, 18 RBIs).
Bochy could hardly contain his happiness over seeing Helman bring it all together at a very important time.
"I'm happy for this guy," Bochy said. "Here he is getting a chance and taking full advantage of it. He's been fun to watch. … He's had two terrific games, but he's helped us in some other games too. He's spent a lot of time in the Minor Leagues and put on waivers, all those things. I couldn't be happier for a guy like this. We're having fun with it, watching this guy play so well."
Rangers starter Jack Leiter gave up three runs in 5 2/3 innings of work. He also has been an admirer of Helman's play over the last few games.
"This was Helman's game," Leiter said. "It’s two in a row …It's a pretty unbelievable two days. I'm sure he'd say that's pretty hard to top for the best two days of his life. It’s incredible. He's a really good player, works super hard and is just a great guy all around. It's cool to see something like that happen. He's earned it."
Texas has had a plethora of injuries that could have broken them down and made the entire team look toward vacation time in Cancun. Not so fast, my friend. The Rangers still want to be in the postseason chatter, playing like they want it more and more.
"They're playing loose, they're playing free," Bochy said. "They’ve tried to prove that it's not one or two guys that will be the reason we get there. It’s going to take everybody. It's been somebody different, it seems like every night."
Entering Wednesday afternoon's series finale with the Brewers, the Rangers are now 2.5 games behind the fading Houston Astros in the American League West Division. They also are 1.5 games out of an AL Wild Card spot.
Without a doubt, it's "go time" for Texas.