Staff report

Fort Loramie’s Jared Hoying is back in the Major Leagues.

Hoying, an outfielder who last season became the first player in Shelby County history to play in a big league baseball game, is back in the dugout for the Texas Rangers after being called up from Class AAA Round Rock on Tuesday.

He was expected to be in the starting lineup in centerfield Tuesday night when the Rangers hosted the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Rangers announced Monday that outfielder Carlos Gomez would be out four to six weeks with a right hamstring strain. He suffered the injury on Sunday, and after an examination, he was placed on the disabled list. Hoying was a leading candidate for promotion along with Jurickson Profar. But Profar has been playing shortstop.

Hoying was not in the lineup Monday night for Round Rock, which was a good indication he would be called up to fill in for Gomez.

The 27-year-old was called up twice last season and wound up playing in 38 games for the Rangers. He had 46 at-bats and 12 hits for a .217 average. Of his hits, two were doubles, and he wound up with five runs batted in.

In one of those games last season, the Rangers trailed 10-1 in the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins and decided to use a position player to pitch the last inning. Hoying was that player, facing four batters. He retired the first two before giving up a home run, then got the final out of the inning.

The game was in Texas and Hoying was told he might be called on to pitch the ninth. He responded by asking where the bullpen was.

A 10th-round pick of the Rangers in 2010, Hoying was hitting .242 for Round Rock before being called up. He had scored 23 runs, drove in 23, had 32 hits, including seven homers and nine doubles, with a .477 slugging percentage and a .336 on-base percentage.

In four games in the last week, he had two hits and scored two runs.