Rangers notch walk-off win over Rays following wild pitch
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aroldis Chapman’s first win since being traded to Texas got here after the hard-throwing Cuban unleashed the 2 quickest pitches of the Statcast period for the Rangers.
A 100 mph fastball from Pete Fairbanks sank the Tampa Bay Rays within the opener of a collection matching AL division leaders.
Pinch-runner Josh Smith scored on Fairbanks’ wild pitch with two outs within the ninth inning, giving the Rangers a 3-2 victory Monday night time.
Chapman (5-2), acquired from Kansas City in a commerce late final month, threw a pair of 102.8 mph sinkers whereas putting out the facet within the ninth.
The 35-year-old left-hander’s first win with Texas got here two days after his first save for the Rangers, when he threw the earlier quickest Statcast pitch for the membership at 102.5 mph in a 2-0 victory over Cleveland.
The longtime nearer nonetheless isn’t in that function for Texas _ lefty Will Smith has it _ however Chapman was supervisor Bruce Bochy’s selection within the prime of the ninth with the rating tied.
“I said he would change this club, this bullpen, he’d make us a much better team,” Bochy mentioned. “And he’s done that.”
All-Star rookie Josh Jung led off the underside of the ninth with a double and was changed by Smith, who went to 3rd with two outs on Nathaniel Lowe’s groundout. The 1-1 pitch from Fairbanks (0-3) to Mitch Garver, a 100.4 mph fastball, went previous catcher Christian Bethancourt, permitting the speedy Smith to attain simply.
“It looked like he just yanked the heater,” Rays supervisor Kevin Cash mentioned. “You trust Pete is going to get nasty at the right time. He just got maybe a little bit too nasty and yanked the fastball.”
The Rangers improved to 4-0 for the reason that All-Star break, with three of the victories approaching rallies within the sixth inning or later. One of the wins for the AL West leaders was their first in 28 tries when trailing after seven.
Tampa Bay All-Star left-hander Shane McClanahan allowed one hit via 5 innings and had a 2-0 lead in his return from again stiffness that saved him out of final week’s festivities in Seattle.
McClanahan had retired 14 consecutive batters and confronted the minimal when Robbie Grossman opened the sixth with an infield single. Ezequiel Duran tied it with an opposite-field dwelling run into the Texas bullpen in right-center.
McClanahan gave up three hits and two runs in six innings, leaving after 69 pitches in his first begin since June 30 for the AL East-leading Rays. They nonetheless have one of the best report within the American League regardless of a 3-9 mark in July.
Back stiffness had compelled McClanahan out of consecutive begins with out finishing 4 innings earlier than he went on the 15-day injured checklist. He threw 66 pitches in each of these outings.
“It felt good to feel like myself again. I feel like I had everything working tonight,” McClanahan mentioned. “It stinks, the end result, but I feel like I have a lot of good stuff to work off of from tonight.”
THE LOWE-DOWN
Josh Lowe, the youthful brother of Texas first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, additionally put one within the Texas bullpen, pulling a solo shot off Dane Dunning for a 2-0 Tampa Bay lead within the second.
ANOTHER RETURNING RAY
Yandy Diaz, coming back from the paternity checklist after the beginning of his first youngster a day after homering within the All-Star Game, singled to start out the sport when his liner caromed off Dunning’s left foot. He scored on Randy Arozarena’s sacrifice fly.
UP NEXT
Rays: RHP Taj Bradley (5-5, 5.43 ERA) has allowed 16 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings over his previous three begins. The 22-year-old rookie took the loss in Texas’ lone victory throughout a three-game collection at Tampa Bay, 8-4 on June 10.
Rangers: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (10-3, 2.83) makes his first begin since throwing a scoreless inning within the AL’s 3-2 loss within the All-Star Game. He is 9-1 over his previous 15 begins.
