Texas Rangers: Semien and Seager coming up clutch is why you pay them

Marcus Semien and Corey Seager were paid big bucks by the Texas Rangers this off-season. $500 million combined, to be exact. And they’re the reason the Rangers beat the Astros 6-2 on Monday night.

First, it was Semien, who has mostly been struggling so far, driving in the tying run from third base in the bottom of the seventh inning. Then, it was Seager, driving in Semien for Texas’ first lead of the night, one they wouldn’t look back on.

Marcus Semien and Corey Seager coming up clutch vs. Astros is why the Texas Rangers paid them the big bucks

Semien ties the game, Seager puts the Rangers ahead. And against the Astros to boot? It’s what every Texas Rangers fan has dreamt of since Jon Daniels and Chris Young put this formidable middle infield tandem together. It was a mere matter of time before Texas would finally receive some return on investment. They had better, since there’s a combined 17 years and $500 million committed to the superstar players.

Coming up clutch is what you pay these guys to do.

It’s been particularly rough for Semien so far, who has yet to cross the Mendoza line in 2022, but seems to be finding more rhythm at the plate. Seager has been solid, but not spectacular as his numbers at the plate aren’t quite at the level the Rangers anticipated they would be after doling out the big bucks.

And yet, it’s still early. Both players will have time to find more consistent swings. If the Texas Rangers are going to take that next step, they’ll need legitimate production from their superstars. The back of the baseball cards suggest positive regression should be imminent.

Monday night against Houston was the first real instance in which we’ve seen the Semien-Seager duo affect the outcome of a game the way we all expected. Hopefully it wasn’t the last.