Ezequiel Duran and Adolis Garcia belted home runs in a five-run eighth inning as the Texas Rangers pulled away late for an 8-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas.
With the game tied 3-3 going into the eighth, the Rangers took the lead on a one-out solo home run by Duran off Tigers reliever Brendan White (1-2). Duran fouled off six two-strike pitches before sending the 12th pitch — a sweeper on a 3-2 count — into the left-field seats, just inside the foul pole.
The Rangers poured it on by scoring four more runs with a two-out rally after Tigers reliever Anthony Misiewicz took over on the mound. Corey Seager’s RBI double was followed by Nathaniel Lowe’s RBI single. Garcia capped the frame by ending a nine-pitch at-bat with a two-run blast to straightaway center.
The late rally allowed the Rangers to end a three-game losing streak.
Texas reliever Josh Sborz (4-2) earned the win after allowing one run over two innings.
Detroit jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second inning on RBI singles by Miguel Cabrera and Tyler Nevin. Texas rallied for a 3-2 lead with three runs in the sixth, getting a sacrifice fly from Robbie Grossman and RBI hits by pinch hitters Josh Jung and Leody Taveras.
The Tigers answered in the eighth, tying the game at 3-3 on a solo home run by Spencer Torkelson off Sborz. However, the Rangers pulled away in the bottom half of the inning.
The Rangers’ offense finished 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position and struck out only five times. In a series-opening, 7-2 loss to the Tigers on Monday, the Rangers went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and struck out 16 times.
Texas starter Martin Perez allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts over six innings.
Detroit starter Matt Manning also didn’t factor into the decision after giving up two runs on three hits with four walks and four strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
