When Adolis Garcia hit the first pitch of the 10th inning into the left field stands Friday night, it gave the youthful Texas Rangers another win and handed the struggling New Yankees another frustrating experience.
The Rangers will look to keep the fun going and prevent the host Yankees from breaking through on offense when the teams continue their three-game series on Saturday afternoon.
Texas has won four of the teams’ first five meetings to clinch the season series from the Yankees for the first time since 2016. Texas is 5-1 in its past six games overall since a 2-7 slump earlier this month.
After taking two of three at home against the Toronto Blue Jays and doing the same on the road against the Chicago White Sox, the Rangers earned a 4-2 victory at New York on Friday night. Garcia hit his 17th homer and boosted his RBI total to 60 when he connected off Michael King.
The Rangers had 10 hits, including three with runners in scoring position, and head into Saturday batting .315 with runners in scoring position this year, the best mark in the majors.
“That’s a huge win for us,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “In New York on the road, they come back and tie it. Just a great game for (our players) to be in. Every pitch and every play counts, and they played very well tonight.”
The Yankees went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and scored both of their runs on outs. Billy McKinney hit an RBI groundout in the second inning, and pinch hitter Kyle Higashioka lifted a tying sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Anthony Rizzo and Isiah Kiner-Falefa each had two of New York’s six hits, but Giancarlo Stanton continued to struggle, going 0-for-4. Stanton is hitting .183 overall, and he is 5-for-52 (.096) since returning from a hamstring injury on June 2. He is hitless in his past 20 at-bats.
“You know it can come at any time,” New York manager Aaron Boone said of Stanton. “It’s as simple as getting in that strong position with a little bit of rhythm and being on time. I feel like from a timing standpoint, (it is) just a little off.”
Jon Gray (6-2, 2.96 ERA) will attempts to match his win total from last season, his first in Texas, when he starts on Saturday.
The right-hander hopes to rebound from his shakiest start of the year. Gray allowed one run or none in six straight starts until Sunday, when he was tagged for six runs and six hits in 2 1/3 innings. He came away with a no-decision when the Rangers came back for an 11-7 win over the Blue Jays.
Gray has made three starts against the Yankees in his career and has come away with a no-decision each time. He pitched to a 4.40 ERA in those outings.
New York right-hander Luis Severino (0-2, 6.30 ERA) will attempt to rebound from four straight rough starts, which have ballooned his ERA from 1.59 after his first two outings. Severino is 0-2 with a 9.16 ERA in those four starts. He gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits in five innings during a 4-1 loss at Boston in the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday.
Severino is 1-2 with a 3.68 ERA in five career appearances (four starts) against the Rangers. He ended last season by pitching seven no-run, no-hit innings with just one walk and seven strikeouts while getting a win on Oct. 3 at Texas.
–Field Level Media
