Walk-off wild pitch provides Rangers an emotional win
Josh H. Smith scores winner on wild pitch as Rangers beat Rays
n”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:550,”contentType”:”rich”},”__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”“It was very, very emotional for us,” mentioned Ezequiel Duran, who hit a game-tying two-run homer in the sixth. “That was a key moment in the game, two strikes, two outs. We get that [wild pitch], we get the win, and it’s something that’s very emotional for everyone and makes us very happy.”nnThis was the Rangers’ third walk-off victory of the season, but their first on a wild pitch since March 31, 2019, against the Cubs, when Joey Gallo scored the winning run. nn“Jung, off a tough pitcher, that’s a good at-bat to get the double there, and I decided to put Smitty out there because he runs really well,” said Rangers manager Bruce Bochy. “If it’s going to be a base, it could be the difference in those two between their speed. You’re hoping for a base hit, but anything can happen at that point, so a big win for us. nn“It was tough, tough sledding there for a while. Their guys were just throwing so well. 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During that time, the Rangers had one hit, a Marcus Semien leadoff single in the first that was erased by a double play. Texas went 0-for-14 against McClanahan between Semien’s single and Robbie Grossman’s leadoff single in the sixth inning, which set up Duran’s game-tying homer.”,”type”:”text”,”__typename”:”Video”,”contentDate”:”2023-07-18T01:20:51.431Z”,”preferredPlaybackScenarioURL(“preferredPlaybacks”:”mp4AvcPlayback”)”:”https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-07/17/24e1f7fe-9949758d-ead7a689-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4″,”type”:”video”,”description”:”Ezequiel Duran swats a two-run homer to right-center field, tying the game at 2 in the bottom of the 6th inning”,”displayAsVideoGif”:false,”duration”:”00:00:24″,”slug”:”ezequiel-duran-homers-13-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-center-field-robbie-gross”,”tags”:[“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”season-2023″,”title”:”Season 2023″,”type”:”season”,”__typename”:”GameTag”,”__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-677649″,”title”:”Ezequiel Duran”,”person”:”__ref”:”Person:677649″,”type”:”player”,”__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-140″,”title”:”Texas Rangers”,”team”:”__ref”:”Team:140″,”type”:”team”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”hitting”,”title”:”hitting”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”highlight”,”title”:”highlight”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”in-game-highlight”,”title”:”in-game highlight”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”game-action-tracking”,”title”:”game action tracking”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”home-run”,”title”:”home run”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”greatest-plays”,”title”:”Greatest Plays”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”send-to-news-mlb-feed”,”title”:”Send To News MLB feed”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”yahoo-in-game”,”title”:”Yahoo In-Game”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”2-yahoo-mlb-ads-feed”,”title”:”2-Yahoo MLB Ads Feed”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”international-feed”,”title”:”International Partner feed”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”fan-duel”,”title”:”Fan Duel”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”eclat-feed”,”title”:”Eclat feed”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”imagen-feed”,”title”:”Imagen feed”,”type”:”taxonomy”],”thumbnail”:”__typename”:”Thumbnail”,”templateUrl”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/formatInstructions/mlb/dfz7qht0g7hcxfi9b0pq”,”title”:”Duran’s two-run home run (13)”,”relativeSiteUrl”:”/video/ezequiel-duran-homers-13-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-center-field-robbie-gross”,”__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”The Rangers had more strikeouts (six) than walks and hits combined (four) against McClanahan, but they made sure every hit counted in the end. nn “Wow, I mean, you look at all his weapons, the guy pumps 98 out there, and it’s moving,” Bochy said of McClanahan. “He’s got great secondary pitches, the slider, the curve and a tremendous changeup. We knew we had our hands full, and we just had to go out there and compete. The guys did a great job of it tonight.”nnTexas starter Dane Dunning mentioned he doesn’t normally know whom he’s going through earlier than he will get to the ballpark on a begin day. 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When you look at the elite pitchers in the game, he’s right there. I’ve said this, when you face somebody like that, you need your guy to step up, and Dane did that. 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3:56 AM UTC
ARLINGTON — When Josh Jung led off the underside of the ninth inning with a double into the left-center-field hole, it appeared just like the Rangers have been primed for a walk-off victory over the American League East-leading Rays.
They obtained it, however not as anticipated.
Instead of an exhilarating walk-off homer or an enormous hit from the center of the order, Texas received on a walk-off wild pitch. Pete Fairbanks’ 100 mph four-seamer hit the backstop, and pinch-runner Josh H. Smith sprinted residence because the Rangers defeated the Rays, 3-2, on Monday night time at Globe Life Field to open the three-game set.
“It was very, very emotional for us,” mentioned Ezequiel Duran, who hit a game-tying two-run homer within the sixth. “That was a key moment in the game, two strikes, two outs. We get that [wild pitch], we get the win, and it’s something that’s very emotional for everyone and makes us very happy.”
This was the Rangers’ third walk-off victory of the season, however their first on a wild pitch since March 31, 2019, in opposition to the Cubs, when Joey Gallo scored the profitable run.
“Jung, off a tough pitcher, that’s a good at-bat to get the double there, and I decided to put Smitty out there because he runs really well,” mentioned Rangers supervisor Bruce Bochy. “If it’s going to be a base, it may very well be the distinction in these two between their pace. You’re hoping for a base hit, however something can occur at that time, so an enormous win for us.
“It was tough, tough sledding there for a while. Their guys were just throwing so well. It takes your guys to keep you in a ballgame, and you never know what’s going to happen.”
Before the wild pitch walk-off, it was a pitchers’ duel all night time in Arlington.
Rays starter Shane McClanahan confronted the minimal by means of 5 innings. During that point, the Rangers had one hit, a Marcus Semien leadoff single within the first that was erased by a double play. Texas went 0-for-14 in opposition to McClanahan between Semien’s single and Robbie Grossman’s leadoff single within the sixth inning, which arrange Duran’s game-tying homer.
The Rangers had extra strikeouts (six) than walks and hits mixed (4) in opposition to McClanahan, however they made certain each hit counted ultimately.
“Wow, I mean, you look at all his weapons, the guy pumps 98 out there, and it’s moving,” Bochy said of McClanahan. “He’s got great secondary pitches, the slider, the curve and a tremendous changeup. We knew we had our hands full, and we just had to go out there and compete. The guys did a great job of it tonight.”
Texas starter Dane Dunning mentioned he doesn’t normally know whom he’s going through earlier than he will get to the ballpark on a begin day. But he realized properly earlier than he confirmed up at Globe Life Field how troublesome of a matchup it might be on each side.
Dunning rose to the event in opposition to the American League All-Star.
The right-hander allowed one run in every of the primary two innings — together with a solo shot from Josh Lowe, Nathaniel’s little brother, within the second — however rapidly settled in, capping his first outing of the second half with 5 scoreless innings to present the Rangers’ offense loads of time to make up the two-run deficit.
“We saw really good pitching on both sides,” Bochy mentioned. “McClanahan, we all know how good he is. When you look at the elite pitchers in the game, he’s right there. I’ve said this, when you face somebody like that, you need your guy to step up, and Dane did that. He made a couple of mistakes there, but he settled down and got in a good groove and gave us seven solid innings and gave us a chance.”
For a crew that has constantly sat on the prime of the AL West this season and has top-of-the-line offenses in baseball, the Rangers’ bats have usually struggled late in video games.
That theme has flipped early within the second half, because the win over the Rays gave Texas its fourth straight victory popping out of the All-Star break and third comeback win in these 4 video games.
“Yeah, these are some of the games that I thought we were missing in the first half,” Bochy mentioned. “These guys in this first homestand here after the [All-Star break], I mean, they’ve just done a great job of just keeping that focus and fighting hard for nine innings.”
