ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Wyatt Langford's first big league homer was a memorable sprint around the bases for the promising rookie.
Langford hit an inside-the-park homer for Texas on Sunday, helping the Rangers put together a fast start in a 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
Batting with Jonah Heim on first with two out in the first inning, Langford drove a 3-2 fastball from left-hander Andrew Abbott toward the gap in right-center.
The ball hit about halfway up the wall at the 374-foot mark, which briefly angles out at 45 degrees. It bounced past right fielder Jake Fraley toward the right field corner.
The 22-year-old Langford took off after seeing the ball get past Fraley. As he sped toward third base, third base coach Tony Beasley vigorously waved him home. He scored without a throw, giving the Rangers a 4-0 lead.
“It’s super cool,” Langford said. "I’ll definitely remember it forever."
“I think coming out of the box he thought it was out,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “Then he turned it on. Once it caromed off the wall there, I said, ‘He’s going to have a home run here.’”
Langford was selected by Texas with the No. 4 pick in last year's draft out of the University of Florida. He broke camp with the Rangers after hitting .365 with six homers in 21 games during spring training.
Going into the series finale against Cincinnati, he was hitting .245 with three doubles and a triple in 26 games.
“I feel really good now,” Langford said. “The guys in the clubhouse have done a really good time as well welcoming me.”
Langford became the fourth player for the Rangers to hit an insider-the-parker for his first big league homer. The previous one was hit by teammate Josh Smith in July 2022 against Oakland.
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Texas Rangers' Adolis Garcia and Nathaniel Lowe (30) celebrate with manager Bruce Bochy, center, after Garcia's two-run home run against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)
Texas Rangers' Jonah Heim, left, reacts after Wyatt Langford (36) scored on an inside-the-park home run against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)
Texas Rangers's Wyatt Langford (36) celebrates with teammate Davis Wendzel, right, after hitting an inside-the-park home run against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)
Texas Rangers' Wyatt Langford rounds third base on an inside-the-park home run against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)
PARIS (AP) — France's government rushed hundreds of police reinforcements to the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia and considered imposing an emergency Wednesday to curb curb violence that has killed four people on the island, where pro-independence supporters have long pushed to break free from France.
After successive nights of unrest, French authorities reported the first deaths on Wednesday, with a gendarme among the four people killed. More than 300 people have been injured since Monday, when protests over voting changes pushed by Paris turned violent. There have also been more than 130 arrests, French authorities said.
There have been decades of tensions on the archipelago between Indigenous Kanaks seeking independence and descendants of colonizers who want to remain part of France.
After a two-hour security meeting Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron and top ministers, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal told parliament in Paris that the state of emergency would aim “to restore order in the shortest time possible.”
The French Cabinet will consider a decree imposing the emergency measures on Wednesday afternoon, he said.
Reinforcements were being rushed in to help security forces that have battled violent protesters. The Interior Ministry said 500 additional officers were expected within hours on the archipelago to bolster 1,800 police and gendarmes already there.
This week’s unrest erupted as the French legislature in Paris debated amending the French constitution to make changes to voter lists in New Caledonia. The National Assembly on Wednesday approved a bill that will, among other changes, allow residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years to cast ballots in provincial elections.
Opponents say the measure will benefit pro-France politicians in New Caledonia and further marginalize indigenous Kanak people. They once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination. The vast archipelago of about 270,000 people east of Australia is 10 time zones ahead of Paris.
From Macron down, France's government made repeated calls Wednesday for an end to the violence.
The territory’s top French official, High Commissioner Louis Le Franc, warned of the possibility of “many deaths” if calm isn't restored. A police station was among dozens of places that were attacked, with shots fired, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said. Posting on X, he said a gendarme who had been shot was among the dead.
In Paris, Macron emphasized the need for political dialogue. Rival political parties in New Caledonia also jointly called for calm, saying in a statement: “We have to continue to live together.”
An overnight curfew in New Caledonia was extended to Thursday. Schools and the main airport remained closed, Le Franc said.
“The situation is not serious, it is very serious," Le Franc said. “We have entered a dangerous spiral, a deadly spiral.”
He said some residents in the capital and neighboring municipalities formed “self-defense groups” to protect their homes and businesses.
New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III, Napoleon’s nephew and heir. It became an overseas territory after World War II, with French citizenship granted to all Kanaks in 1957.
A peace deal between rival factions was reached in 1988. A decade later, France promised to grant New Caledonia political power and broad autonomy and hold up to three successive referendums.
The three referendums were organized between 2018 to 2021 and a majority of voters chose to remain part of France instead of backing independence. The pro-independence Kanak people rejected the results of the last referendum in 2021, which they boycotted because it was held at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Barbara Surk reported from Nice.
FILE - French gendarme patrol at a roundabout in Noumea, New Caledonia, Sunday Dec.12, 2021. At least two people were killed and three were seriously injured overnight in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia, French officials there said Wednesday, May 15, 2024, as President Emmanuel Macron convened a meeting of top ministers to discuss the spiraling violence. (AP Photo/Clotilde Richalet, File)
