Taylor Walls hit a two-run infield single with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting the host Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Thursday.
Texas was nursing a 3-1 lead in the ninth inning before Junior Caminero halved the deficit with a one-out RBI single up the middle off Robert Garcia (1-3).
Christopher Morel reached on an infield single to load the bases with two outs before Jonathan Aranda and Caminero came around to score after the Rangers failed to cover first base on Walls’ base hit.
The wild ending completed a three-game series sweep for Tampa Bay. The Rays recorded a 12th win in 15 games overall and a 10th victory in their past 11 contests at home.
The late uprising made a winner out of Cole Sulser (2-1), who allowed one hit over one scoreless inning.
Garcia permitted three runs on four hits in two-thirds of an inning.
Caminero launched a solo shot in the second inning, his team-leading 15th homer of the season and sixth in his past eight games.
Texas’ Marcus Semien belted two solo homers to highlight his three-hit performance.
Jake Burger also went deep and joined Josh Smith in collecting two hits apiece for the Rangers, who have lost 12 of their past 16 games.
Texas relievers Hoby Milner, Shawn Armstrong and Jacob Latz combined to strike out five batters without allowing a hit over three scoreless innings before Garcia encountered trouble in the ninth.
Caminero deposited a 1-1 fastball from Jack Leiter over the wall in center field to open the scoring in the second inning.
Burger forged a tie in the third inning after sending a 0-1 changeup from Ryan Pepiot over the wall in left-center field. The homer was Burger’s eighth of the season.
Semien led off the fifth by depositing a 3-1 fastball from Pepiot over the wall in left field and added a blast off Kevin Kelly with two outs in the seventh inning for a 3-1 lead. Semien boosted his season homer total to six with his third in his past six games.
Leiter allowed one run in six innings, striking out six. Pepiot permitted two runs in six innings, and he fanned eight.
–Field Level Media
Miami murals honoring baseball trailblazers Jackie Robinson and Minnie Minoso were defaced with swastikas and racist slurs this week. The vandalism in the city’s Overtown neighborhood was reported Monday to…
Cleveland Guardians right-hander Shane Bieber was scratched from his scheduled rehab start on Friday due to soreness in his surgically repaired elbow. The former American League Cy Young Award winner…
The Atlanta Braves hope a disheartening loss and a flight to San Francisco will lead to the same type of result as last season when the struggling club opens a…
Guardians RHP Shane Bieber (elbow) suffers rehab setback
Braves bid to rebound from ‘horrible loss’ in clash vs. Giants
Cardinals turn to Sonny Gray in bid to best Dodgers
Angels’ bullpen, Mariners’ Cal Raleigh the headliners as teams open 3-game series