Hey Nineteen! Phenom Profar homer lifts Rangers over Tribe

Cleveland, OH, United States (4E Sports) – Young phenom Jurickson Profar became the first player in Texas Rangers history to homer in his first Major League at-bat, smacking a 388-foot homer to spark the team to an 8-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians Sunday at Progressive Field.

Profar, who replaced second baseman Ian Kinsler in the lineup shortly before first pitch, launched a 2-1 fastball from Indians starter Zach McAllister (5-6) over the right-field fence in the 3rd inning to help Texas take two of three games from the Indians.

The victory also helped Texas (79-54) tie a franchise mark for best record through 133 contests.

At 19 years and 195 days old, Profar also became the youngest player to hit a home run in the Major League since Adrian Beltre did it in 1998 with the Los Angeles Dodgers at 19 years and 171 days old at the time.

Profar then doubled in his second at-bat and flied out in his last two plate appearances. A native of Curacao, he was called up on Saturday from Double-A Frisco, where he was batting .281 with 14 homers and 26 doubles.

Following Profar’s lead, Nelson Cruz plated Michael Young with a double over the head of Indians right fielder Thomas Neal and David Murphy drove in a pair of runs with a single to give Texas a commanding 4-0 lead.

After Carlos Santana hit a two-run shot in the bottom half of the third, the Rangers once again jumped all over McAllister in the fifth, with Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre and Murphy hitting solo shots to push the Rangers ahead 7-2.

Michael Young added a RBI double in the eighth before Thomas Neal hit an RBI single in the ninth for the final tally.

Texas provided enough run support to help Derek Holland improve his record to 10-6 in front of about 50 friends and family members, who traveled from his nearby hometown Newark, Ohio.

The 25-year-old starter limited the Indians to two runs on seven hits in seven innings, improving his career record to 3-0 against the Tribe.

McAllister absorbed the loss after surrendering seven earned runs on 11 hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

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