Jake Burger spent the previous three days of spring training inside Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, some 1,700 miles from the Texas Rangers’ complex, where his four-month-old daughter Penelope underwent open heart surgery.

Instead of roaming the back fields in Surprise this week, Rangers infielder Jake Burger returned to his home in Nashville to spend necessary time with his family. Burger’s four-month-old daughter Penelope had successful open heart surgery on Feb.

Jake Burger hit a home run Thursday in his first game for the Rangers since his 4-month-old daughter, Penelope, had open-heart surgery in Nashville earlier this week.

Burger, in his debut game at first as a Texas Ranger in Friday’s Cactus League exhibition vs. the Kansas City Royals, picked the ground ball with ease, turned to his right and rifled a throw to shortstop Corey Seager to turn an inning-ending double play in the bottom of the first. It looked easy peasy.

Jake Burger hit his first home run as a member of the Texas Rangers on Thursday. During the fifth inning of the Rangers Spring Training game against the Seattle Mariners, Burger, who started at DH, took Blas Castano deep with two outs and a runner on first.