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05/14/26 01:11:00
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05/14 01:10 CDT No closing this game as Rangers beat Dbacks after frantic 9th
inning and Jansen's walk-off hit
No closing this game as Rangers beat Dbacks after frantic 9th inning and
Jansen's walk-off hit
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Baseball Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) --- Danny Jansen chuckled after saying he didn't really
want to have to catch another inning in what had already been an active game
behind the plate.
Jansen didn't have to after he delivered the walk-off hit that gave the Texas
Rangers a 6-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night, when the
closers for both teams gave up three runs in a frantic ninth inning.
"I feel like the game had everything. Like passed balls, a couple of wild
pitches, I mean, stolen bases, threw somebody out," said Jansen, who also
blocked a few pitches with runners on base. "A bit of everything, it was kind
of a wild one. ... Definitely a crazy finish."
The Rangers had just tied the game and chased Paul Sewald (0-4), who had
converted his first nine save chances, when No. 9 batter Jansen grounded a RBI
single down the line into the left-field corner on the only pitch thrown by
Juan Morillo.
That came after a frustrating top of the ninth for the Rangers, when Jacob Latz
--- their main closer since halfway through a stretch of 10 consecutive
scoreless outings --- failed to retire any of the four batters he faced. He was
gone after Nolan Arenado had an RBI double and Ildemaro Vargas lined a two-run
single into left for a 5-3 lead.
"Latz has been so good this year. He has given up next to no runs," manager
Skip Schumaker said. "I pitched him two innings, day off, then back-to-back,
and then running him out there, maybe not fair to him quite honestly."
But when it was over, Latz was all smiles like every one else after the Rangers
had clinched back-to-back-series wins for the first time since their first two
series of the season.
"The boys picked him up in a big way," Schumaker said. "And that's what good
teams do, and good teammates do, is they pick each other up."
The Rangers (21-22) have won five of their last six games going into an off day
Thursday.
Arizona (20-22) overcame a 3-0 deficit, finally getting even and then going
ahead in the top of the ninth, handing their closer a two-run lead even after
leaving 13 runners on base.
Sewald got out two of the first three batters in the ninth, starting with a
strikeout of struggling shortstop Corey Seager. Josh Jung had a single in
between those outs, and scored on Ezequiel Duran's double before Alejandro
Osuna walked on five pitches and Jake Burger tied the game with an RBI single
to chase the closer.
"I felt like they were just on every pitch," Sewald said. "It just felt like
when I threw good pitchers, it didn't matter."
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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