ARLINGTON, Texas — There's so much talk about what the Texas Rangers will or should do with Jurickson Profar in the future that it's sometimes tough to enjoy what he's doing in the present.
The Rangers sure liked what the super prospect did Sunday.
The 20-year-old with all the tools in the world broke a 1-1 tie with a two-out, two-strike home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Rangers to a 3-1 victory over Kansas City.
Profar's second home of the season, which sent a sellout crowd at Rangers Ballpark into a frenzy, seemed to be a big deal to everyone but him.
"Sure it's special because we won and that's the ultimate goal," Profar said. "The thing we're going for is the win. It doesn't matter if it's a homer or an error or something. For me we win and I'm happy."
The homer off J.C. Gutierrez came after Profar received conflicting advice from his teammates. Third baseman Adrian Beltre told Profar to wait for a fastball after seeing how Gutierrez had quickly disposed of the first two batters of the inning. Shortstop Elvis Andrus told Profar to just get on base and Andrus would knock him in.
Profar listened to Beltre and ignored Andrus by lifting a fastball high and into the stands in right for a 383-foot homer on the fifth pitch of the at-bat.
Profar responded by speeding around the bases, something Andrus thinks he'll have plenty of time to correct.
"That was really quick," Andrus said. "He needs to work on it. He's going to hit plenty of homers in his career. It was exciting. It was really clutch. It was a great at-bat. He was throwing a lot of breaking pitches. I'm really happy that he tried to sneak a fastball inside and he put a good swing on it."
Profar was originally slated to hit leadoff and play short, but moved to the No. 9 spot and second base after Andrus talked his way into the lineup. He ended up having two of the six Texas hits and became the first non-pinch-hitting No. 9 hitter in the Texas lineup to hit a go-ahead homer in the eighth or later since Ramon Vazquez in 2008.
Not bad for a guy who isn't assured of a spot on the roster once Ian Kinsler gets healthy. The Rangers are just happy he's producing now.
"He's not afraid of the game of baseball," manager Ron Washington said. "I like the way he plays. Those opportunities like what happened today when he hit that home run is what that kid lives for. I don't think anybody in the ballpark expected that. He gave us a lift right there. It was something we needed right there and he rises to those types of occasions."
Profar's dramatics did something that's tough to do: Take the spotlight away from Yu Darvish in one of his starts.
Darvish pitched seven shutout innings and was in line for the win with a 1-0 lead before the Royals tied the game in the eighth off lefty Neal Cotts. Darvish threw just 99 pitches in his seven innings, but came out because he was starting to tire.
All that did was set the stage for Profar, who is now hitting .324 in his 10 games with the Rangers. His homer was followed two batters later by an RBI single from David Murphy that gave Texas an insurance run.
Joe Nathan closed the game with a perfect ninth, as he pitched for a third consecutive day. Nathan, who now has 17 saves on the season, would have been pitching in a tie game if it weren't for Profar.
The veteran right-hander knows the Rangers have something special in Profar.
"Not only does he have talent, but he's so open to learn this game from the guys that have been here," said Nathan. "Obviously he's done a lot down in the minor leagues. It seems like since he's been up here he's kept his ears open. He's kept his eyes open. He doesn't take anything for granted. He knows he's got to work to stay up here, not just get up here and take it easy."
