Ranger danger: Texas beats Astros on walk-off, takes over lead in AL West
Take a look around the league with Big League Stew’s daily wrap up. We’ll hit on all of the biggest moments from the day that you may have missed, while providing highlights, photos and interesting stats.
For the first time this season, the Texas Rangers have a lead in the American League West. Texas was able to overcome the Houston Astros during a 6-5 walk-off win Tuesday.
The Rangers got off to a strong start, pounding Astros starter Collin McHugh for four runs in the first inning. They couldn’t hold that lead, though.
[On this week’s StewPod: Jose Altuve joins us to talk about the surprising Astros.]
Derek Holland wound up giving up five runs over his first four innings. With the Astros up by one run in the bottom of the fourth, Adrian Beltre drove in the game-tying run on a double.
The game would stay knotted up until the bottom of the ninth. That’s when the Rangers decided to finish off the Astros.
With Oliver Perez on the mound, Prince Fielder reached on a single to lead off the inning. Fiedler was replaced on the bases by Drew Stubbs. Stubbs was able to advance to third on an Adrian Beltre single.
With the winning run 90 feet away, Mitch Moreland stepped to the plate. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Moreland hit a game-winning sac fly to center. Stubbs scored, giving the Rangers the win.
With the victory, the Rangers improved to 77-67 on the season. They now hold a half game lead over the Astros in the AL West.
HEYWARD POWERS CARDS TO VICTORY
The St. Louis Cardinals acquired outfielder Jason Heyward during the offseason for games like this. Heyward play a pivotal role in the team’s 3-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.
With the game tied 1-1, Heyward stepped to the plate in the top of the 10th inning against Tyler Thornburg. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Heyward belted a 93 mph fastball out to right center for the go-ahead two-run shot. St. Louis would hold on in the bottom of the frame, picking up the victory.
Though the Cardinals have struggled offensively lately, Heyward has not been part of the problem.
With the win, St. Louis improved to 90-54 on the year. The team has a three game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Central.
CHRIS DAVIS COMES THROUGH
Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis has been on fire lately. He proved as much Tuesday, collecting the walk-off win during the team’s 6-5 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Davis got his chance to shine in the bottom of the 13th inning. With men on first and third, he stepped to the plate against Robbie Ross.
On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Davis singled to right, driving in the game-winning run.
Since the All-Star break, Davis has been tremendous at the plate. The slugger has hit .303/.426/.703, with 17 home runs, over 176 plate appearances.
With the win, Baltimore improved to 71-73 on the season.
SAMARDZIJA HIT HARD AGAIN
Chicago White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija hasn’t lived up to expectations this season. Samardzija had another tough start during a 17-6 loss against the Oakland Athletics.
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For Samardzija, the struggles started immediately. Sam Fuld led off the game with a double. Though Samardzija was able to strike out Marcus Semien, he walked the next two hitters, loading the bases.
Against the next five batters, Samardzija allowed a single, fly out, double, single and a double. By the time the first inning ended, he had allowed five runs.
It got worse. Samardzija allowed another run in the third, but it was the fourth inning that really did him in. He started off the frame by giving up a single. That was followed up by a two-run homer from Josh Reddick. After giving up another single, Samardzija allowed a run-scoring double against Billy Butler. He was pulled at that point. Butler would come around to score, and the run was charged to Samardzija.
When all was said and done, Samardzija had allowed 10 runs on 11 hits over three innings. His ERA rose to 5.27 on the season with the performance.
Want to see more from Tuesday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
