After dropping Game 1 of the ongoing three-game series against the New York Yankees at Globe Life Field, the Texas Rangers fought back with a 7-4 victory on Tuesday. While pitching dominated most of the game, hitters came alive to score in bundles late on.
Yankees starter Carlos Rodon pitched well, throwing six innings for one earned run, recording 11 strikeouts. Meanwhile, Rangers starter Andrew Heaney also didn't let his guard down, throwing five shutout innings.
Josh Jung's homer in the fourth gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead, but RBIs from Jose Trevino and Alex Verdugo in the seventh gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead. The Yanks added two more in the top of the eighth, with Anthony Volpe hitting a two run RBI single against Andrew Chafin.
The Rangers responded with two runs off their own as Jung and Nathaniel Lowe RBIs got them to within one run of the Yankees. Clay Holmes was called to protect the Yankees' 4-3 lead in the ninth. However, he blew up the lead as Wyatt Langford hit a walk-off grand slam as the Rangers won 7-4.
New York Yankees vs Texas Rangers Game Player Stats
New York Yankees game player stats
Texas Rangers game player stats
Josh Jung and Wyatt Langford star with home runs
Rangers fans were in for a delight on Tuesday, as one of the two home runs on the night gave them reasons to celebrate in what has been a disappointing season for them.
The first home run came off the barrel of Josh Jung, who took Carlos Rodon deep for a 386-foot center field home run to give the Rangers an early lead in the fourth inning. However, it was the second home run of the night that gave the thrills. Clay Holmes was called upon to protect a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning.
Pinch hitter Travis Jankowski was retired by Holmes before allowing a single to Carson Kelly and back-to-back walks to Josh Smith and Marcus Semien. With bases loaded and one man out, Wyatt Langford arrived at the plate in a crunch situation.
Right there, he belted a sky-high grand slam for a 407-foot home run to left field for a walk-off win against the Yankees.
With the victory, the Rangers improved to 66-73 while the Yankees dropped to 80-59. Meanwhile, with the Baltimore Orioles (81-59) registering a 9-0 win over the Chicago White Sox, the Yankees dropped to second in the AL East.