DSJ Quick Take: Rangers Edge Orioles 2-1 on Pederson Homer and Ninth-Inning Relay
Joc Pederson‘s two-run homer in the sixth inning and a 9-4-2 relay that cut down the tying run in the ninth gave Texas a 2-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Globe Life Field. The Texas Rangers moved back to .500 at 58-58 and kept the third American League wild card spot.
- How was it won? Nimmo to Lopez to Díaz retired Leody Taveras at the plate with one out in the ninth, and the out call was upheld on review.
- Who led the way? Pederson hit his 21st homer and eighth go-ahead homer of the season, and Nathan Eovaldi allowed 1 run over 5 1/3 innings with a bases-loaded strikeout of Pete Alonso.
- Why does it matter? Texas won its third straight, returned to .500, and sits 1 1/2 games behind Houston in the AL West with 46 games left.
- What’s next? The Rangers host the Orioles on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. CT at Globe Life Field on FOX, with Jacob deGrom facing Kyle Bradish.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Joc Pederson hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning, and a 9-4-2 relay cut down the tying run at the plate in the ninth as the Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 on Friday night at Globe Life Field.
Texas won its third game in a row and climbed back to .500 at 58-58. The Rangers trail Houston by 1 1/2 games in the American League West, and they hold the third AL wild card spot with 46 games left on the schedule.
Nathan Eovaldi allowed 1 run on 4 hits over 5 1/3 innings and struck out 2. Tyler Alexander picked up the win, giving up 1 hit in two-thirds of an inning. Jacob Latz covered the last two innings for his 22nd save, the most on the team.
Baltimore scored in the second inning. Leody Taveras doubled with two outs, and Coby Mayo drove him in with a single.
Eovaldi loaded the bases later in the game on back-to-back two-out singles by Colton Cowser and Carlos Narváez and a walk to Gunnar Henderson. He froze Pete Alonso with a 2-2 splitter for a called third strike to end the inning.
Eovaldi told MLB.com he had not shown Alonso much beyond the splitter through the first two at-bats.
“I think the other at-bats kind of led up to it,” Eovaldi said. “We were able to stick to the game plan and the way we wanted to attack him. When that third at-bat came around, I hadn’t really shown him many of my other pitches, so I was able to rely on the splitter in that big situation. Luckily we came out on top there.”
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said the splitter was always going to be Eovaldi’s pitch against a Baltimore lineup stacked with left-handed hitters.
“I thought the cutter usage was brilliant tonight,” Schumaker said. “The back door to lefties, up and in to lefties. The splitter is always going to be his pitch, but I thought the usage of the cutter was the reason why you know he was so effective, especially against a really good left-hand hitting lineup.”
Joc Pederson’s Sixth-Inning Homer Off Shane Baz
Shane Baz held Texas to one hit through five innings, a leadoff single by Brandon Nimmo in the second. Elias Díaz opened the sixth with an infield single that Baz could not field. Nicky Lopez sacrificed Díaz to second base. Pederson swung at the next pitch, a cutter over the plate, and drove it 414 feet down the right-field line.
The home run was Pederson’s 21st of the season and his eighth go-ahead homer of the year. In 56 games out of the leadoff spot this season, he has hit .284/.356/.635.
Baltimore outhit Texas 7-3.
Baz finished with 8 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, and 9 strikeouts on 93 pitches. He fell to 4-11.
Schumaker said Pederson’s comeback season has been gigantic for the Rangers.
“Oh gosh, man, Joc has been incredible,” Schumaker explained. “We were scuffling offensively. We got nothing going. … His comeback season has been gigantic for us, and he showed up again today. We got that game because of Joc.”
Pederson said the pitching staff held a good team to one run on a night when the offense did not have much going.
“They all matter,” Pederson said. “You gotta bring it every day, no matter who you’re playing. You’re going to face guys like that that have really good stuff and command the ball. We didn’t play our best game offensively, but we were still able to squeak out a win. Our pitching staff did a great job holding a good team to one run. That’s what good teams do — you pick each other up and try to find ways to stack wins.”
Nicky Lopez and Elias Díaz Cut Down the Tying Run
Latz came back out for the ninth after a scoreless eighth. Taveras led off with an infield single. Mayo struck out. Christian Franklin, a rookie outfielder who made his major league debut Tuesday, then ripped a double down the right-field line for his first big league hit.
Taveras was running on contact. Nimmo played the ball off the right-field wall and threw in to Lopez, who had shifted into shallow right. Lopez fired home. Díaz caught a short hop in front of the plate, laid out to his left, and tagged Taveras through the collision.
Home plate umpire John Libka called Taveras out. Baltimore challenged, and the call was upheld after review. Latz then struck out Christian Encarnacion-Strand to end the game and strand Franklin at second base. It was Latz’s sixth save of six or more outs this season.
Díaz said he had one job on the play and executed it.
“It’s do or die, you know,” Díaz said. “That’s all that was on my mind. I got one job, and I executed.”
Schumaker said Nimmo made a good relay throw and Lopez made a strong one behind it.
“That pick by Díaz, the in-between hop, that is not an easy play with a really fast runner on top of you,” Schumaker said. “It’s a bang-bang play, really good relay by Nim. Obviously, a good throw, a strong throw by Lopez. You don’t see that play made too often by a catcher, and it was just obviously a game-saving play.”
Lopez told The Dallas Morning News his job on the relay was to get the ball close to Díaz.
“It was pretty special,” Lopez said, “it was pretty perfect.”
Baltimore lost its second straight game and fell to 56-60. The Orioles have dropped four of their last seven.
Texas continues the three-game series against Baltimore on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. CT at Globe Life Field, and FOX has the broadcast. Jacob deGrom (7-7, 3.96 ERA) starts for the Rangers against Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish (7-10, 3.79).
