Joc Pederson, Kyle Higashioka were stars at the plate as Texas Rangers rally to beat St. Louis Cardinals 7-4.
As the Texas Rangers start playing in June, they are one of the hottest teams in all of baseball. They've now won five straight games, but had to rally late in taking down the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Tuesday night.
Pederson was 3-for-4 on the night with two doubles, two RBIs, and a run scored. Higashioka went 3-for-4 as well, hitting a double and scoring a run.
But let's go to the ninth inning, where Texas put things together to take the lead. Pederson singled to left, driving home Evan Carter and giving the Rangers a 5-4 lead. Things got even worse for the Cardinals and better for the Rangers.
Jung Gives Rangers Two-Run Lead
Josh Jung singled to right, Michael Helman scored, and Pederson moved to third base. Rangers were now up to a 6-4 advantage. Then, Brandon Nimmo hit a sacrifice fly and Texas wrapped up its scoring a 7-4. The Cardinals couldn't put together a rally and the Rangers tucked away consecutive win No. 5.
Nathan Eovaldi worked six innings against St. Louis. He gave up 11 hits, four earned runs, walked one, and struck out seven Cardinals. He was not involved in the decision, though. Jalen Beeks worked 1.2 innings in relief, didn't give up an earned run, allowed one hit, and struck out two.
Cal Quantrill worked 0.1 innings and ended up getting the victory. His record goes to 3-0 this season and has a 2.49 ERA. Jakob Junis worked a solid ninth inning, giving up one hit, no earned runs, and struck out one. Junis now has an effective 1.69 ERA.
Cardinals starter Dustin May also didn't get a decision, but worked 5.2 innings. May gave up five hits, three earned runs, walked two, and struck out nine. Three Cardinals relievers backed up May's work pretty good, but things went south for reliever Riley O'Brien.
O'Brien worked the ninth inning, giving up three hits, three earned runs, walked one, and struck out two.
Rangers Took Advantage of RISP Moments
Texas was 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position and the Rangers left six runners on base. St. Louis was 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base. The Cardinals had plenty of scoring opportunities with runners either on second and/or third base.
But they just couldn't get solid offensive output on Tuesday night.
Right now, the Rangers are just on a heater. A big one. Texas is two games out of first place in the American League West Division, but ahead of the rest of the pack. It's a really good opportunity for the Rangers to push ahead and either tie or take over the lead in the division.
All Texas has to do is stay hot. Maybe not winning double-digit games hot, but the Rangers can position themselves much better. In the past 10 games, Texas has gone 6-4. Repeat that or go stronger in the next 10 games, and fans who show up at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, will have plenty of reasons to cheer during the summer months.
Join the Community
Don't miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news!
It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!
