The 2024 Texas Rangers aren’t where they want to be by any means.

Entering play today, Texas sat at just 53-59, less than a year removed from their first-ever World Series title.

However, the champs’ lack of success hasn’t had anything to do with the play of Josh Smith. Before the season started, a comment like that would have been outlandish.

Monday night, Josh Smith once again proved his value to the 2024 Texas Rangers by blasting a walkoff two-run home run to give the Rangers a 4-3 win over the Astros at Globe Life Field.

With Texas down to their final strike, Smith belted a 3-1 fastball into the right field seats to win it for the Rangers.

“That felt good, I’ve been struggling a little bit lately” Smith said after the game “That’s my first ever walkoff homer in any time in my life so that’s the best feeling in the world”.

Smith’s home run was one of two clutch shots from Texas as Corey Seager blasted a game-tying homer in the 8th to provide the bulk of the Rangers offense tonight.

“I don’t think you can have two bigger home runs than what we got late in the ball game,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “Hard fought game, entertaining [with the] fans, it was a really really exciting game, it’s easy to say that when you win but guys played well, just a lot of gutty efforts all throughout the club there”.

Rangers pitching was able to provide some of those gutty efforts as they held the Astros to just three runs on four hits in the extra innings victory.

It all started with Andrew Heaney who threw one of his best starts of the season firing six innings of one-run baseball with his only hit allowed being a solo home run to Alex Bregman in the third.

“A little rough early but just trying to pitch to contact and let the defense do their thing,” Heaney said. “Good fortune, some balls on the warning track, just the one ball Bregman hit but other than that just trying to attack and take it to them.

Once Heaney turned the game over to the bullpen, it was anything but smooth sailing but four Rangers combined to wiggle out of several jams and gave up just one earned run to keep Texas in it.

Wins like these are ones that you hope can turn the tide for a ballclub and the Rangers certainly feel like they may have gotten one of those tonight.

“You always hope you can get some momentum going,” Bruce Bochy said. “It’s a great win for these guys, they came out and fought hard and these are important games, we know it, they know it, I just love the way they came out and played”.