Rangers 3, Nationals 2
ARLINGTON, Texas, June 25 — Saturday was a very big day at Globe Life Field, as it saw the Texas Rangers walk off against the Washington Nationals by a final score of 3–2. Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia was the hero in this one. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Garcia blasted one over the wall in deep center field to break a 2–2 tie that sent the Rangers faithful of 36,183 home happy. The finale in this three-game set is on Sunday afternoon. Righty Jackson Tetreault (1–1, 5.73 ERA) will get the start for Washington. The Rangers, meanwhile, will send their own right-hander to the mound in the person of Glenn Otto (4–2, 4.24 ERA).
Lowe Goes Deep for Rangers
The Rangers got on the board early on Saturday. In the bottom of the second inning, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe hit a two-run homer to center field to put the Rangers on top by a score of 2–0. It was his tenth home run of the season. Rangers’ DH Mitch Garver was the man on base at the time. This season, Lowe is batting .275, with nine home runs, and 28 RBI. He recorded two of those RBI in the Rangers’ walk-off win on Saturday. In 240 at-bats in the 2022 campaign, he has logged a total of 66 base hits. He has also scored 27 runs for the Rangers this year.
Rangers Walk Off
The Rangers’ walk-off win over Washington was nothing short of dramatic. It looked like extra innings were on the horizon, but Adolis Garcia decided to call the game himself. Garcia was due to lead off in the bottom of the ninth inning. Even though Garcia has proven himself to be clutch in these situations, fans were still a little nervous. He quickly put their minds at ease, however, with his walk-off home run. As is the case whenever the Rangers win at Globe Life Field, the fans were treated to Pat Green’s “I Like Texas” over the PA system immediately after Garcia’s moonshot. With this win, the Rangers are now 34–36. They are only two games below .500, and they currently sit in second place in the AL West, ten and a half games behind the Houston Astros.
Nationals’ Offense
The Nationals remained out of the run column until the top of the sixth inning. Former Ranger Nelson Cruz tied the game 2–2 with a two-run shot of his own. Juan Soto was the man on base at the time. Unfortunately for Washington, they could not produce any more run support for starting pitcher Josiah Gray. With their loss on Saturday, the Nationals’ record for the 2022 season is now 26–48. They are 22 games below .500, and currently sit in last place in the NL East, which translates to 21.5 games behind the first place New York Mets, who are 47–26 this year.
Pitching Notes
It was an opener situation for the Rangers on Saturday, as there was a last minute change. Brett Martin replaced Matt Bush as the Rangers’ starter. There was no injury to Bush. He was just unavailable to pitch due to his late inning relief appearance in Friday’s game. On Saturday, Martin pitched one inning, giving up one hit, and two walks. Taylor Hearn came in and pitched the next four innings. He allowed two walk, and struck out one. Brock Burke gave up the two-run home run to Cruz in the sixth. Matt Moore and Joe Barlow also pitched an inning apiece. Barlow recored the winning decision. He is now 3–1 this year, with an ERA of 2.84. There was no save recorded.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Adolis Garcia, Jackson Tetreault, Nathaniel Lowe, Mitch Garver, Nelson Cruz, Juan Soto, Josiah Gray, Brett Martin, Matt Bush, Taylor Hearn, Brock Burke, Matt Moore, Joe Barlow, Glenn Otto
