A throwing error by Denzer Guzman resulted in a 2-1 walk-off win for the Texas Rangers over the Los Angeles Angels in 10 innings on Friday night in Arlington, Texas.
Guzman’s RBI double broke the scoreless deadlock in the top of the inning, but Wyatt Langford served an 0-2 pitch from Ben Joyce (0-1) into shallow right field and tied the game with an RBI double.
Brandon Nimmo was intentionally walked to set up a force play. Although Guzman handled Ezequiel Duran’s hard grounder to third base, his throw to get the runner at second was wide of the bag, allowing Langford to score the winning run.
Duran, who was credited with a single on the play, had four of Texas’ 11 hits.
Tyler Alexander (4-2) earned the win despite giving up the go-ahead run earlier in the frame.
Both teams got stellar performances from left-handed starters who didn’t factor in the decision.
Texas’ MacKenzie Gore had seven strikeouts in six scoreless innings, only giving up a walk and a pair of singles.
Reid Detmers also threw six scoreless for Los Angeles, walking one and striking out five. As with Gore, all six of the hits Detmers allowed were singles.
Detmers got help from the Angels’ defense in the first. After Justin Foscue drew a leadoff walk, Mike Trout leapt at the wall in center to rob Corey Seager of extra bases for the first out and Guzman made a diving play at third base to initiate an inning-ending double play.
Cody Freeman returned the favor for Texas the following inning. With Jose Siri on second and one out, the Texas second baseman snagged a Josh Lowe grounder to save a run from scoring. Gore got Travis d’Arnaud to fly out to center, stranding Siri at third.
A shaky fifth was almost Detmers’ undoing. A trio of one-out singles by Cody Freeman, Elias Diaz and Evan Carter loaded the bases, but Guzman forced out Freeman at home on a fielder’s choice grounder by Foscue and Seager struck out looking as Texas came up empty.
Carter’s ground-rule double with two outs in the seventh was the first extra-base hit for either team, but he failed to score when Foscue flied out to center.
