Texas Rangers vs Tampa Bay Rays Box Score on Jul 23, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Jul 23, 2017

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- For the third day in a row, the Texas Rangers rallied late to erase a two-run deficit and stun the Tampa Bay Rays, ending a series sweep with a 6-5 win on Sunday at Tropicana Field.

The Rays (51-48) led 5-3 in the eighth inning, but the Rangers (48-50) got a two-run home run from Rougned Odor -- his second of the game -- to tie it, then a solo home run from Carlos Gomez off reliever Brad Boxberger (2-2) put them ahead.

Tampa Bay had looked to flip the script, rallying from an early 2-0 deficit for a 5-2 lead, but the bullpen, asked to come up with five innings after a short day by starter Jake Odorizzi, couldn't hold the lead. Boxberger, who came in with a 1.42 ERA, saw that balloon to 4.91 after giving up a walk to Mike Napoli, then the two home runs.

The Rays entered the series with a 42-4 record when leading after seven innings, but went 0-2 in those situations against Texas, and losing another lead in the sixth inning Saturday.

Tampa Bay has dropped four games in a row, but remains in the thick of the American League wild card race, which had four teams within one game of each other entering Sunday's games, plus the resurgent Rangers, now 2 1/2 games behind the Rays.

Matt Bush (3-4) won after pitching a scoreless seventh, with Jason Grilli pitching a 1-2-3 eighth for Texas and Jose Leclerc pitching around two walks in the ninth for his second save, striking out Steven Souza Jr. with two on to end the game.

The Rays had taken control Sunday with three runs in the fourth off Rangers' starter Tyson Ross. The biggest hit came on a two-run double by Mallex Smith.

Texas jumped ahead 2-0 in the second inning off Odorizzi, as Adrian Beltre tripled and scored on Napoli's sacrifice fly, with Odor following with a solo home run -- his 18th of the season -- off the catwalk. Odorizzi left with the lead but didn't last long enough to be eligible for the win, giving up a home run in his 15th straight appearance to extend his team record.

The Rays, who blew 3-1 leads in 4-3 losses each of the previous two days, bounced back, tying the game in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Adeiny Hechavarria, then a run-scoring double play for a 2-2 score.

Ross ran into trouble in the fourth, giving up a walk to Souza and single to Shane Peterson. The Rays executed a double steal, and a walk loaded the bases for Smith, whose two-run double made it 4-2. Texas got an out at the plate, but a bases-loaded walk to Brad Miller extended the Rays' lead to 5-2.

Joey Gallo hit a solo home run -- his 23rd of the season -- to cut the Rays' lead to 5-3, and Odorizzi walked the next two batters, with Erasmo Ramirez taking over. He got Beltre to pop out to the catcher and struck out Napoli to end the inning.

NOTES: The Rays acquired RHP Sergio Romo from the Dodgers after Saturday's game to bolster their bullpen, but he had not joined the team before Sunday's game. A roster move will be made to make room for him once he arrives. ... Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos suffered a left ankle sprain on a collision at the plate in the fourth inning and was replaced by Jonathan Lucroy. He'll get a precautionary X-ray to check on the severity of the injury. ... Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre had two singles, giving him 2,789 hits for his career, closing in on Roberto Clemente (3,000) for 30th on baseball's all-time list.