– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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ARLINGTON, Texas — In a matchup that promised great pitching from the start, it was the final pitch, one of the few errant ones thrown in Monday’s pitcher’s duel, that decided the game between a couple of the American League’s division leaders.
Pinch runner Josh H. Smith scored on a wild pitch from closer PEte Fairbanks with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Texas Rangers a 3-2 walk-off victory over the Tampa Bay Rays to begin a three-game set between two of the top teams in Major League Baseball. Josh Jung opened the bottom of the ninth with a double before Smith entered the game to pinch run, which came after Ezequiel Duran tied the game at 2-2 with a two-run home run.
Rays starter Shane McClanahan, an 11-game winner, and Rangers starters Dane Dunning, with eight wins and an ERA under three coming in, matched each other pitch-for-pitch, with Dunning settling in after allowing single runs in the first and second — the second coming on a solo home run by Josh Lowe, the little brother of Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. Dunning finished the game with five consecutive scoreless inning, and allowed just five hits while striking out four in his seven innings of work.
McClanahan, making his first start since June 30 after landing on the injured list with mid-back tightness, faced the minimum through five innings. Marcus Semien led off the game with a single for the Rangers before being erased by a double play, and Texas went 0-for-14 against McClanahan between Semien’s single and Robbie Grossman’s leadoff single in the sixth inning. Duran, batting immediately after Grossman, then drove a pitch over the wall in right-center to tie the contest.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Monday evening’s game, with all photos taken by Dallas-area photographer Ross James. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 34 pictures in total.
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