Josh Jung capped a four-run eighth inning with a two-run single as the Texas Rangers completed a 6-5 comeback victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.
With Cleveland leading 5-2, Texas’ Marcus Semien and Corey Seager drew one-out walks, sparking the rally. An RBI single from Nathaniel Lowe followed by Adolis Garcia’s RBI double cut the deficit to 5-4.
Jung provided the go-ahead runs, as his base hit scored Lowe and Garcia for a 6-5 lead. It marked the first time the Rangers were on top all game.
Reliever Will Smith earned his 16th save with a scoreless ninth inning as the Rangers won their third straight over Cleveland. Cody Bradford (2-1), who pitched three innings in relief of starter Martin Perez, allowed two runs on three hits to help Texas complete a series sweep.
Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee went six innings, giving up two runs on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts. Trevor Stephan (4-4), who entered in the eighth and recorded just one out while yielding four runs, was tagged with the loss.
Steven Kwan finished with four hits and three RBIs for the Guardians.
Both the Guardians and Rangers found success at the plate in the first inning. Kwan led off the game and sent the second pitch of the game over the wall in right-center field for a 1-0 Cleveland lead, only to have Semien counter with a home run leading off the bottom of the frame.
A half-inning later, the Guardians reclaimed the advantage. David Fry led off the second with a single, and Gabriel Arias drew a one-out walk. Myles Straw’s base hit loaded the bases for Kwan, who drove in both Arias and Fry on a single up the middle.
Cleveland’s 3-1 lead held until the bottom of the third, when Lowe’s RBI single scored Semien from second base. The hit cut the deficit to one run and gave Texas a scoring opportunity with runners on the corners. But Bibee struck out both Garcia and Jung, escaping with the lead still intact.
The next four innings played out in scoreless fashion before the Guardians extended their edge in the eighth. Josh Naylor led off the inning with a double to right field, and Fry’s one-out, two-run homer to left made it 5-2.
However, the Rangers’ offensive surge in the bottom of the inning erased the three-run margin.
–Field Level Media
