It has been said that the triple and the inside-the-park home run are the most exciting plays in baseball. However, I disagree with that assertion. I feel that the most exciting play in baseball is the Walk-off. A walk-off refers to a play that leads to a run scoring to end the game. Normally baseball is measured in outs, and a game ends when the losing team runs out of outs. However, in some games the team scores a run to take the lead in the final half-inning, after which the game ends. The run can score due to everything from a hit to a home run to an error to even a strikeout, but at any rate one team comes away with the joys of victory while the other team has the agony of defeat. Any time a walk-off becomes a possibility the buzz in the ball-park become palpable, and when one actually happens the excitement goes through the roof.
The walk-off is about as old as professional baseball itself, but the term "walk-off" was first credited to Hall of Fame reliever Dennis Eckersley, who in 1988 referred to a game-ending home run as a "walk-off piece," as the pitcher that allowed it has to walk off the field in shame. Incidentally Eckersley would give up one of the most famous walk-off pieces in baseball history later that year. Walk-offs aren't all that uncommon. 193 of the 2,429 regular season games in 2019 (the last full season) ended in a walk-off, plus three more in 37 post-season games. It comes down to 7.9% of all Major League games ending in a walk-off. Nevertheless, many of baseball's most famous moments are walk-offs: Gabby Hartnett's Homer in the Gloamin' in 1938, Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard Around the World" from 1951, Bill Mazeroski's Yankee-killing home run in 1960, Carlton Fisk's "Wave It Fair" home run in 1975, Ozzie Smith's "Go Crazy" home run in 1985, Bill Buckner's "Behind the Bag" error in 1986, Gibson's "I Don't Believe What I Just Saw" home run in 1988, Kirby Puckett's "We'll See You Tomorrow Night" home run in 1991, Joe Carter's "Touch 'Em All" home run in 1993, Robin Ventura's Grand Single in 1999 Luis Gonzalez's Yankee-slaying single in 2001, David Ortiz's "We'll See You Later Tonight" home run in 2004, and unfortunately David Freese's hit in 2011.
I have seen 12 home runs in the 149 Major League baseball games I attended, equaling about 8.0% of the games I've seen. Back when Facebook had the Facebook notes, I had written about the walk-off games I've seen, making a post once every two years. Well, obviously Facebook has deleted the posts, so I figured I might as well re-write it for this blog. In my original post in 2015 I had ordered the games by win probability added (WPA), but this time I will just do everything in chronological order and list the WPA among other facts.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/1012622782535273/
https://www.facebook.com/notes/350088632769894/
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June 18, 2006
Washington Nationals 3, New York Yankees 2
RFK Stadium, Washington DC
WPA: .79
My very first walk-off game was one that showed the double-edged sword of the walk-off. For every team that walks off a winner there is one that goes home a loser. Back in 2006, the most popular figures in among Taiwanese baseball fans was without a doubt Wang Chien-Ming (王建民). He was only the third player that hailed from the island nation to make it to Major League Baseball (after Chen Chin-Feng [陳金鋒] and Tsao Chin-Hui [曹錦輝]), but he was undoubtedly the first to make a distinct impact. Pitching for the New York Yankees certainly helped, but while several other pitches have succumbed to the intense media spotlight, Wang's ruthless sinker and calm demeanor helped him find success. He made his debut in 2005 after injuries decimated New York's original starting rotation. He more than held his own, going 8-5 and a 4.02 ERA (still worth a 105 ERA+), and he pitched well in the Division Series. He was named to the starting rotation in 2006, and while he started slow in April, by mid-June he had established himself as one of the most dependable starters of an otherwise inconsistent rotation.
As a baseball fan with Taiwan ties (my parents were from Taiwan and I cherish all my visits there, including one in New Year's 2006), I was also caught up in the Wang Chien-Ming craze. I followed each of his starts, and kept the Chinese newspapers for each of his wins. It didn't take long to figure out that the Yankees would be heading to Washington DC for an interleague series in the middle of June. I tried to figure out when he'd start in the series by counting potential starters and settled on Sunday, June 18 as a likely target date. That was Father's Day, and also the day the local Chinese School held a picnic, but my parents knew how big of a Wang Chien-Ming fan I was, and allowed me to skip the picnic to go to the game. I splurged and bought seats in the lower bowl, and made sure to bring a small Taiwan flag to show my support.
The Yankee had started slowly in 2006 as they relied on the likes of Shawn Chacon, Jaret Wright, and an injured and inconsistent Randy Johnson, but by the time they started the road trip New York had wrestled first place from the rival Boston Red Sox with a 37-27 record. Meanwhile, the Nationals were spending only their second season in Washington DC after coming over from Montreal. They had surprised the baseball establishment by being competitive in their first season in 2005, but ultimately finished last (albeit with a decent 81-81 record), but had fallen to 30-38 after a four-game sweep at home by the Colorado Rockies. Nevertheless, any idea that the mighty Yankees would walk all over the meek Nationals went out the door as Wright, the potential pitching hero for the Cleveland Indians in 1997, was battered for five runs in five innings in the Friday contest. The Yankees clawed back to take the lead in the ninth, but New York manager Joe Torre had to call on closer Mariano Rivera for five outs in 17 pitches. On Saturday, the Yankees blew a 9-2 lead in the fifth as Chacon allowed six runs in four and 1/3 innings. Rivera was called to duty with one out in the eighth again, but this time failed to hold the lead as Washington jumped out to an 11-9 win.
So the Sunday game became a rubber match. The Yankees watched their lead evaporate as Boston jumped back into a tie for first with a win over the Atlanta Braves. However, they did have Wang on the mound. He sported a 7-2 record, one win behind future Hall of Famer Mike Mussina for the team lead, and while his ERA was 4.15, it was 2.84 in June. Meanwhile, the Nationals were trotting out Mike O'Connor, a left-handed rookie from George Washington University who had a losing 3-4 record and a 3.70 ERA. I was in my seat by the time the game started, without any idea of what I exactly I am in for, both in terms of weather and baseball.
Wang relies on his heavy sinker for his success, as the downward motion of the ball makes it difficult for hitters to elevate, leading to numerous ground balls. And to the Yankees' delight his sinker was in good form that day, as he worked around singles by Alfonso Soriano and Jose Guillen with a ground ball double play and another groundout. This was after New York wasted a prime scoring opportunity in the first. Derek Jeter singled with two outs. O'Connor threw the ball away while trying to pick off the Yankees Captain as Jeter advanced to second, then stole third for good measure. Alas, Jason Giambi struck out to end the inning.
Wang had ten ground ball outs as he entered the fifth. Leading off was rookie third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman was the Nationals first-round draft pick out of my alma mater the University of Virginia the year before. He signed less than two weeks after the draft, and dominated two level of minor league ball to see 20 games of Major League action. He continued to dominate Major League pitching and still maintained his rookie eligibility for 2006. While I want the UVA alum to do well, my rooting interests were still with Wang, and I was secretly delighted when Zimmerman grounded out in the second. However, he roped a single to center to lead off the fifth. After a rare fly ball out, Zimmerman stole second to put himself in scoring position. Up next was Brendan Harris. Wang got his desired ground ball, but it snuck through the porous Yankees shortstop defense, and Zimmerman trotted home with the game's first run. The Washington lead was short-lived, as Jeter led off the top of the sixth with a double. He went to third on a wild pitch, then after Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez walked, Jorge Posada tied the game with a sacrifice fly.
Wang continued working the ground balls as the game moved to the eighth inning. O'Connor had pitched well against the New York offense, but Nationals manager Frank Robinson decided the rookie had enough and called on Gary Majewski, who had been a key set-up man for the team in 2005 but had struggled in June, picking up the loss in the Friday match-up. He opened the inning by walking Melky Cabrera after a protracted battle. He followed it up by striking out Jeter and Giambi before coming face to face with A-Rod. A-Rod wasn't yet the steroid pariah at the time and was beginning to find his hitting stroke after a swoon in May. He pounded a double into deep left-center field, allowing Cabrera to score easily. He advanced to third on a wild pitch, but Majewski retired Robinson Cano to keep the deficit at one. Wang came out to pitch the eighth. he was beginning to show some signs of fatigue as he walked two batters, and other than a sacrifice bunt his outs were into the outfield. Nevertheless he left with the lead intact.
Manager Torre had a conundrum on his hand. He needed Wang to pitch deep in the game, and the Taiwanese sinkerballer delivered with eight strong innings. Now the pitcher's spot was due up second in the ninth, and Wang had looked overmatched in his first three plate appearances, striking out twice (including once on a foul bunt) and a meek groundout. Rivera was unavailable, having thrown 32 pitches in the two days before. The rest of the Yankees bullpen also looked spotty. With Wang's pitch count still at 96, Torre opted to let him hit. Wang struck out as part of a one-two-three inning, leading to the bottom of the ninth. According to the win probability chart as tabulated by Tom Tango in his book The Game, the Yankees had an 80% chance of winning the game. That increased to 89% when Guillen grounded out for Wang's 17th groundball out of the game. He needed only two more outs to secure the victory. The next spot was the pitcher's spot, which had moved to the fourth thanks to a double switch earlier in the game. Manager Robinson sent up Marlon Anderson as a pinch-hitter, who hit a ground ball, but it eluded both second baseman Cano and first baseman Andy Phillips as it went for a single. I still held out hope for another ground ball, maybe one that can be turned into a game-ending double play. Next up was Zimmerman, who already had seven double plays in 67 games.
Wang went to his best pitch, the sinker that could generate a ground ball that could be turned to a double play. However, whether it was fatigue from 106 pitches in the 90-degree weather or just bad execution, the sinker didn't sink. It sat right over the plate, belt high, just saying "hit me over the left field wall!" Zimmerman did just that, ripping the ball and sending it soaring high over the sultry summer sky, where it landed into the Yankees bullpen in left field. The crowd of 45,157, the largest crowd to ever watch a baseball game in RFK Stadium, erupted with joy. The lowly Nationals had defeated the Yankees, winning not just the game but also the series. Zimmerman went flying around the bases, lifting his right fist in triumph when the ball went out. He tossed his batting helmet as he rounded third and leapt into the throng of teammates. Meanwhile, Wang and the Yankees were stunned. "The Light of Taiwan" was just two outs away from securing a crucial victory, but was now saddled with his first complete game loss. He trudged off the mound and in a rare show of emotion threw his glove against the dugout wall. I had no idea of this, but I sat there trying to process my conflicting emotions. I liked both Wang and Zimmerman, but I was rooting for the player who Wang while Zimmerman was the one celebrating the joys of victory. I ended up resolving the cognitive dissonance by reasoning "I'm sad that Wang lost, but if anybody were to hit a walk-off home run, then I'm glad it was Zimmerman."
The game was a crushing blow for Wang, but he didn't let it affect his performance. He won his next start against the Florida Marlins, then really got into a groove in July, going 4-1 with a 3.03 ERA including a complete-game shutout. He pitched well in August and September, and ended the season 19-6 with a 3.63 ERA. The 19 wins were tied with Johan Santana for the Major League lead, and were the most by an Asian pitcher in Major League Baseball history. He finished second to Santana in Cy Young voting, but when MLB.com opened up the voting for the This Year in Baseball Awards, the voters in Taiwan stuffed the ballots, giving the Light of Taiwan victory for "Pitcher of the Year." Yet with all the success he still ended up with only 19 wins. If he had gotten the ground-ball double play then he may could have reached the elusive 20-win benchmark, an impressive achievement in an era when pitching wins by starters have become less common.
Meanwhile, that home run crafted a new identity for Ryan Zimmerman. After the game, he told reporters that was his first walk-off hit of any kind in any level of baseball. The fact that it was a walk-off home run made it extra special. And yet he quickly made these walk-off home runs something of a regular occurrence. Three weeks later he celebrated the Fourth of July with another walk-off, this time against the Florida Marlins. When the new Nationals Park opened for the 2008 season, Zimmerman christened the new ballpark with another walk-off home run in the stadium's first regular season game. He went three years without a walk-off piece, but when he blasted a walk-off home run on August 22, 2019, it was his 11th of all time, one of only ten players to hit that many. He and Tony Perez are the only players among the ten with fewer than 400 home runs, and Perez's 379 is still over 100 ahead of Zimmerman. He has more walk-off home runs than 600-home run icons Ken Griffey Jr., Willie Mays, A-Rod, Henry Aaron, and Barry Bonds. He is only two behind Hall of Famer Jim Thome for the all-time record. And it all started with the Father's Day Walk-Off on June 18, 2006, the first I ever saw.
And now you can watch it here.
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May 17, 2007
New York Mets 6, Chicago Cubs 5
Shea Stadium, New York, NY
WPA: .46
Back in 2007, I was pretty active with the Cavalier Christian Fellowship at the University of Virginia, and in the two weeks between the end of classes and my graduation, I went with the group to a mission trip to New York City. We spent most of the time with a facility that housed recovering drug addicts, helping them as they go about their job organizing and running an antique store while also speaking from the Bible. We did spend one day where we got to explore the city. Most of the group went to visit the popular tourist attractions, while I decided to take a trip to Shea Stadium with two of our campus ministers Luke and Michael to watch the Mets host the Chicago Cubs. It was an interesting time to be a Mets fan. The 2006 team went 97-65, their best record in 18 years. They swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Division Series before dropping a hard-fought NLCS against the 83-win St. Louis Cardinals with Carlos Beltran getting called out on strikes to end the series. The frustrations over the lost opportunity fueled the Mets as they got off to a hot start, and they had the best record in the National League, albeit only half a game ahead of the Atlanta Braves and the surprising Milwaukee Brewers. Meanwhile the Cubs were at 99 years since their last World Series title, but they had collapsed to 66-96 a year earlier, and were still below .500 heading into the match-up.
Luke was a Mets fan, but I didn't have a particular penchant for either of the teams, allowing me to sit back and enjoy the show. The two teams had played until almost 1 in the morning the day before thanks to rain delays, and they had a day game that started 12 hours later. As a result most of the regulars had the day off. The two teams also trotted out a pair of spot starters. The Mets started Jason Vargas, who was acquired from the Florida Marlins but was spending the season with AAA New Orleans. Meanwhile the Cubs went with Angel Guzman, who I somehow heard was going for his first Major League win, after going 0-6 in 2006. In the previous game I attended a year earlier I saw Micah Owings win his first game with the Arizona Diamondbacks. I thought it would be cool to watch a young pitcher win his first Major League game twice in a row. Initially it seemed like it wouldn't be the case, as the Mets scuffed up the Venezuelan youngster in the first and the third, but they couldn't get a run home. Meanwhile it was the Cubs that scored first. Angel Pagan singled with one out, then stole second. Alfonso Soriano flied out, but then Aramis Ramirez lined a single and the Cubs held an early lead. The lead would be short-lived, as in the bottom of the fifth Endy Chavez singled with one out then stole second. Ruben Gotay doubled to tie the game, and he went to third on a Shawn Green single, but then Carlos Delgado grounded into a double play. The Cubs took advantage, as both Pagan and Ramirez homered following singles, and all of a sudden the Mets were down 5-1.
Once the Cubs held the lead, manager Lou Piniella went to his bullpen, who had struggled in the difficult season the year before. However, this time they did the job, with Michael Wuertz and Will Ohman shutting down the home team through the eighth inning. By that time Michael and I were expressing our condolences to Luke. Yet Vargas had settled down with a strong seventh inning, and MLB Bad Boy Ambiorix Burgos contributing with two more extra-innings, and the Cubs still had their 5-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. While it wasn't a save situation, Piniella sent closer Ryan Dempster to finish off the Mets. Dempster was one of the culprits of the 2006 collapse as he went 1-9 and blew nine saves. Yet he seemed to have settled down in 2007. He had eight saves in nine chances and had a 2.37 ERA. Yet he pitched only once in the week before and needed some action. With the bottom of the New York lineup due up, Piniella figured Dempster can get in and out and the Cubs can earn a split in the four-game series. David Newhan did complicate things as he led off with a single, but then Ramon Castro lined out to left field. Dempster got two strikes on the hot-hitting rookie Carlos Gomez, playing in just his fourth Major League game, but Gomez fought off a pitch and singled, sending Newhan to third. With the pitcher's spot coming up, star center fielder Carlos Beltran came up to pinch-hit. Beltran received a lot of ire for his strikeout in the NLCS, but he was otherwise fantastic in 2006, and was off to another strong start in 2007. During the at-bat Gomez advanced to second on defensive indifference, and Dempster ended up pitching around Beltran to load the bases. Lou went out to talk to Dempster, but it was already too late. The bottom was about to fall out for the Cubs. Chavez walked to drive in a run, and Gotay singled on an 0-2 count to make it 5-3. At this point Piniella had seen enough. His closer had turned the non-save situation into a save situation. He turned to veteran Scott Eyre to nail down the save. Meanwhile, Mets manager Willie Randolph was smelling blood, and sent star third baseman David Wright to pinch-hit for Shawn Green. Wright singled, sending Beltran home with the Huge run*.
*The Huge run refers to a run that brings the trailing team to within one. This was a reference to the classic Nintendo 64 game Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey. In that game, whenever you're trailing yet score a goal to bring your team within one, the announcer cries out, "A huge goal!" I took the line and applied it to baseball. So any time a trailing team gets to within one I call it a "Huge run." It hasn't quite caught on.
Now it was up to Carlos Delgado. Delgado had been one of the solid contributors to the 2006 Mets. He hit .265/361/.548 and contributed 38 home runs and 114 RBIs in his first season in New York. Yet he was scuffling thus far in the 2007 season. He was hitting just .217/307/.329 going into this game, and that was after he had 11 hits in 11 games. The power stroke that helped him blast 473 home runs in his career was also missing, as he had only three after homering in back-to-back games the week before. He was one of three Mets that played that day despite playing the night before, but his performance was like somebody sleepwalking through the game. He was 0-4, and his double play in the fifth killed a lot of the momentum. Yet here he was with the bases loaded and the game on the line. He hit a bouncer towards the hole between first and second. Cubs second baseman Ryan Theriot was playing up the middle, and couldn't get to the ball which went into shallow right field. Chavez scored easily to tie the game, and Chicago right fielder Matt Murton's throw was off-line, allowing Gotay to scramble home with the winning run. The Mets had turned what seemed like a lost cause into an improbable come-from-behind victory!
Delgado's hit scored only .46 on the WPA scale, because while the Mets were down, they still had a 54% chance of winning the game, as they had the bases loaded with only one out. Even if Delgado didn't get the hit, the Mets had other chances as long as he didn't ground into a double play. Yet that seemed to be underselling the improbability of this comeback. When the ninth inning started New York had only a 2% chance of overcoming the four-run deficit to win the game. While Newhan's single brought it up to 4%, Castro's flyout dropped the number back to 2%. The Cubs had a 98% chance of winning the game at one point, yet with every walk and every single the Mets' win probability crept up while the Cubs' crept down until the Mets finally finished at 100%. The two teams would meet once again in August, with the Mets prevailing to hand Tom Glavine his 300th win. Yet it was the ultimately the Cubs who would get the last laugh. The Mets held a comfortable 7-game lead on the division with 17 games left in the season. Yet they suffered two separate five-game losing streaks and ultimately blew the NL East crown to the Philadelphia Phillies, who were 20-21 at the end of the day on May 17. Meanwhile the Cubs got hot in June, July, and September, as they took advantage of a weak NL Central to win the division title with an 85-77 record that was still three games worse than the Mets. Yet none of the 42,667 that made it to Shea Stadium that day cared. All that mattered was they got to see the home team win.
And now you can watch it here.
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June 1, 2007
Washington Nationals 4, San Diego Padres 3
RFK Stadium, Washington D.C.
WPA: .18
One of the more common ways to see a walk-off is to watch an extra-inning game, since any win by a home team in the extra inning would constitute a walk-off. Of course, extra inning games aren't all that common. Of the 2,429 regular season games in the last full season of 2019, only 208 of them required extra innings, frequency just barely higher than the number of walk-offs. My 11 extra inning games are actually fewer than my 12 walk-offs. Nevertheless, the very first extra-inning game resulted in a walk-off.
As you might know I've become somewhat fanatical over the 300-win club. This happened in late 2004 and early 2005 shortly after Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux reached the milestone. Back then I had no expectations that I would eventually watch a pitcher win their 300th game, and my goal was to at least watch the active 300-game winners pitch in person. I first realized this was a reality on May 15, 2005. It was the same day that Randy Johnson won his 250th game, but more importantly Greg Maddux pitched against the Washington Nationals in RFK Stadium. I realized that the Montreal Expos moving to Washington DC would give me a chance to watch Major league baseball, and I made it a goal to watch Roger Clemens. I saw that the Houston Astros had a four-game series against the Nationals in July, and used the method of counting starters to predict when Clemens might start. It worked out and I got to watch Clemens win his 336th game on July 22, 2005. I decided to see if that would work for Greg Maddux, but Mad Dog never did pitch in DC in 2006. His starts sandwiched the Chicago Cubs' road trip to RFK Stadium. He would be traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers a week later, but the Dodgers had already taken their trip to the Nationals Capital.
So it was on to 2007. Maddux signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres that off-season, and when the 2007 Nationals schedule came out I saw that the Padres would be making a trip to RFK Stadium from June 1-3. It worked out perfectly, as it would be in the period between of time between my graduation and my trip back to the University of Virginia for a summer course. I tried the tactic of counting starters that had worked well for me in watching Clemens and Wang, and saw that Maddux could make a start on June 1, 2007. I splurged and bought tickets behind home plate for June 1, and also got tickets for June 2, just in case I was off by a day. However, the Padres had a few off-days in May, and that led Maddux swapping rotation spots with rookie Justin Germano. So instead of Mad Dog pitching the opening series against the Nationals, he pitched the final game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pennsylvania. I was crushed. Nevertheless, because I spent so much on getting home plate tickets I decided to go to the game on June 1.
The series wasn't supposed to be all that close. The Nationals had faltered after the Zimmerman walk-off and finished last with a 71-91 record. They stumbled out of the gate and were in last place once again with a 22-32 record, the second worst in the National League. Meanwhile, the Padres were one of the best in the NL, in a three-way tie for first in the NL West. To top it off, the Padres got to start their ace Jake Peavy. I had seen Peavy throw a complete game shutout against Washington on August 7, 2005/ And he was even better going into this start. He had a 1.47 ERA with a 85 strikeouts in 73.1 innings on his way to the pitching Triple Crown and the Cy Young. Meanwhile, the Nationals started rookie Matt Chico who had only 11 starts in the Majors, where he had a 5.13 ERA after four scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals in his previous start. And yet to prove the point that baseball is unrepredictable, the Nationals struck the first blow. Cristian Guzman singled with one out, then Zimmerman doubled him home. Zimm went to third on the throw home, and was able to score easily when Dmitri Young singled.
The Padres came back in the second as Mike Cameron and Josh Bard led off the inning with back-to-back doubles. Chico was able to navigate out of the jam. Meanwhile Washington continued to challenge Peavy, getting runners to second and third in the second on a single, a walk and a sacrifice bunt. Peavy got out of that jam, but he wasn't so lucky in the third. Guzman led off with a single and stole second before Young singled him home. Austin Kearns doubled to put runners on second and third once again, but Peavy got out of the inning without any further damage. Chico pitched valiantly in keeping the Padres off the board for two further innings, but he ran out of gas in the sixth. Adrian Gonzalez led off with a double, then went to third on a flyout. Bard followed with his second double of the game to drive in the Huge run. Chico's day was done after he walked Russell Branyan, giving way to Winston Abreu. Alas, Termel Sledge doubled to tie the game, The lumbering Branyan had to stop at third, and he was stranded.
Peavy had found his groove, and he pitched through the seventh without any further damage. The game gave way to the battle of the bullpens. Saul Rivera was sharp in pitching two innings for the Nationals before Chad Cordero pitched a scoreless ninth. Meanwhile, Heath Bell worked two scoreless innings as well and I was finally getting to see extra innings. Washington called on Jon Rauch to pitch the top of the tenth. The 6-foot-11 Rauch made history back in 2002 when he passed Randy Johnson to become the tallest player in Major League Baseball history. After a few unimpressive years with the Chicago White Sox he was sent to the Expos in the same trade that netted them Gary Majewski, and he became a trusted middle reliever. However, he got into trouble quickly. He walked Gonzalez, then after a strikeout Bard singled for his fourth hit of the game. There were runners on the corner with one out. It was a pressure situation, but Rauch struck out Branyan and his porous bat, then pinch-hitter Geoff Blum grounded out.
So it was on to the bottom of the 10th. With the pinch-hitter in the top of the inning, rookie manager Bud Black had to make a bullpen decision of his own. He went with Cla Meredith, who was one of the best relievers in 2006 with a 1.07 ERA, and got through April 2007 without allowing a single run. However, he had scuffled in May to the tune of a 7.50 ERA in ten appearances, but Black hoped that Meredith was able to rediscover his former dominance. He retired Felipe Lopez on a flyout, but immediately got in to trouble. Guzman and Zimmerman both singled to put runners on the corner with one out, the same mess that Rauch had been in. Rauch's spot was coming up thanks to a double-switch earlier in the game, and up stepped Ronnie Belliard. The wily veteran was in in his first season in Washington after signing with the team late in spring training. He had filled in at second as Lopez took over at short following the injury to the regular shortstop Guzman, but Guzman's return forced Belliard into more of a bench role. Meredith was hoping to get a double play, and Guzman complied with a ground ball up the middle. Alas, it was hit too softly for a play, and Guzman trotted home with the winning run. The last place Nationals had toppled the first place Padres, just proving that baseball is an unpredictable game.
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April 14, 2012
San Francisco Giants 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 3
AT&T Park, San Francisco, CA
WPA: .07
After that 2007 walk-off I went almost five years without another. It wasn't from a lack of going to games, as my moving to Fort Worth, Texas allowed me to live fairly close to the Rangers Ballpark. It just never worked out, but I wasn't too broken up about it. I still had my fanaticism for the 300-win club. During the intervening five years I eventually did get to see Greg Maddux pitch, and also got to see Randy Johnson win his 300th game. I never did get to see Tom Glavine, but part of me still hadn't forgiven him for his Game 6 performance in the 1995 World Series against the Cleveland Indians. In early 2011 I began taking trips around the country to visit the graves of 300-game winners, and in early 2012 I actually got to meet retired members of the 300-win club, starting with Nolan Ryan and Gaylord Perry at the Rangers Fanfest, and following with Don Sutton at a Tristar Show in Houston. I began looking at other Tristar shows, and saw that Steve Carlton would be making an appearance at the show in San Francisco on April 14, 2012. I had the weekend off, and I had no idea when I'd get to see "Lefty" again, so I bought tickets to make the trip west. I decided to check to see the Giants were in town, and saw they were hosting the Pirates. I hadn't made it a mission to go to all the Major League stadiums yet, but I had become somewhat of a low-key Giants fan after Randy Johnson's 300th Win, despite their victory over the hometown Texas Rangers in the 2010 World Series, and I decided to make the trip,
April 14 turned out to be far more eventful than I could have ever imagined. First of all, I woke up late and missed my flight, but thankfully DFW and SFO were both major hubs for American Airlines, so I was able to get on another time with plenty of time to spare. In fact there was sufficient time for me to drive across the Bay Bridge to visit my old house in Pleasanton where I had lived 20 years earlier. (The house changed very little from my memories from 1990-1992). I was able to take the long route around the Bay and still make it to the Cow Palace in time to meet Carlton. The meet and greet was incredibly quick, and I was able to make it to downtown San Francisco and find parking two and a half hours before the game. I was surprised to see the line snaking around the corner. Passions burned bright for the Giants even though the team had missed the playoffs the year before.
It was still early in the season, but both the Giants and the Pirates were not off to great starts. San Francisco was below .500 and already staring at a considerable deficit against the Los Angeles Dodgers who got off to a 7-1 start. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh was still looking for their first winning season in 20 years, but their 2-5 record suggested they were still a ways away. The Giants were starting their overpaid veteran Barry "Rhino" Zito, whose seven-year, $126 million contract signed prior to the 2007 season turned out to be one of the worst in baseball. He had gone 43-61 with a 4.55 ERA in the first five years of the deal. He was completely left off of the 2010 post-season roster, and was coming off an injury-filled 2011 season. He did throw a complete game shutout in the thin air of Denver, Colorado in his first start of the season, his first shutout as a Giant, but then he quickly got in trouble in the first. The Pirates loaded the bases with two outs on a pair of singles and a walk, then Neil Walker's single scored two runs.
Thankfully for the Giants, the Pirates were starting a mediocre veteran of their own. Charlie Morton went 11-29 with a 5.98 from 2008-2010. He did post a decent season in 2011 where he put up an 11-11 record and a 3.83 ERA (still worth only a 97 ERA+), supposedly by copying the delivery of future Hall of Famer Roy Halladay. However, he had surgery for a torn labrum shortly after the season ended, and was making his first start after starting the season on the Disabled List. He worked around an Angel Pagan single to keep San Francisco scoreless in the first, but the Giants struck in the second. Hector Sanchez led off with a single, and scored on a triple by Nate Schierholtz. Schierholtz stayed at third on an infield single by Brandon Crawford, but Emmanuel Burriss, one of the heroes of Randy Johnson's 300th Win, singled to tie the game. Crawford went to third on the play to put runners on the corner, but Morton managed to get out of the inning with no further damage.
Both starters kept the score tied through the fifth, with Zito working around a two-out Josh Harrison triple in the fourth. Then disaster struck for the Giants. Alex Presley singled with one out, then Jose Tabata hit a slow grounder towards third. It could have been an inning-ending double play, but third baseman Pablo Sandoval bucknered the ball, and it went to left field. Shortstop Crawford was backing up the play, but the future Gold Glove winner threw wildly and Presley scored on the embarrassing play. Thankfully Zito kept Tabata from scoring, and the Giants countered in the bottom of the inning. Angel Pagan tripled with one out, and Sandoval made up for his earlier error by singling him home. Sandoval would eventually make another error in the sixth, but that one did not result in a run as Zito retired a pinch-hitter for Morton. Zito made it through the seventh before giving way to the bullpen. Both bullpens did well as the threat of extra innings loomed larger and larger The Pirates threatened in the top of the ninth as pinch-hitter Garrett Jones singled with two outs and stole second. Giants manager called on UVA alumnus Javier Lopez, the left-hander who was nice enough to give me an autograph on my UVA ball in the 2010 World Series. Lopez struck out Presley, and it was off to the bottom of the ninth.
I was in no way prepared for the weather in AT&T Park. I was dressed in my usual T-shirt and shorts and that was sufficient for most of the day, but then it was 54 degrees in the stadium and only got colder as the night went on. A fan sitting behind me took pity and lent me her blanket, but I was hoping the game wouldn't go into extra innings. The Pirates were running out of relievers, and they had to bring in Chris Resop, who had a 4.39 ERA the year prior. Burriss led off the inning, and he responded with a single. Lopez's spot in the order was next, but Ryan Theriot came on to pinch-hit, and he singled as well. The speedy Burriss was able to make it to third, It was a difficult spot for the Pirates, so manager Clint Hurdle decided the best option was to intentionally walk Pagan to load the bases and set up a force at home. Next up was Melky Cabrera. The former Yankee prospect had a strong season with the Royals in 2011, and was off to a great start in his first year in San Francisco. He was hitting .414/.469/.621 going into the game but went 0 for 3 with a walk. He hit a bouncer to Pittsburgh shortstop Clint Barmes, almost tailor-made for a double play. Barmes threw home to catcher Rod Barajas. Barajas had gained notoriety for being the catcher who can't throw, but in this case he couldn't catch the low throw from Barmes. The ball scooted away, and Burriss came barreling down to score the winning run. The Giants had won the game.
As far as WPA goes, this walk-off wasn't particularly exciting. San Francisco already had a 62% chance of winning by virtue of being the home team, and it increased to 93% with the bases loaded and no outs. The winning play was only the ninth highest WPA recorded by the Giants, but none of the 41,657 in the stands cared about WPA. They were in an uproar, celebrating the victory or mourning the loss. And that is the power of the walk-off.
Celebrate the walk-off again here.
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May 31, 2015
Texas Rangers 4, Boston Red Sox 3
Globe Life Park, Arlington, TX
WPA: .80.
Finally, we get to the game that sparked the original "Art of the Walk-Off" post. Of all the walk-offs I've seen, none of them have brought the winning team back further from the brink of defeat more than this one. And the besides the walk-off the game was filled with drama it was probably worth a lengthy post by itself. Anyways, in the original post I started telling the story of the game by talking about the weekend of the game, but really one can begin the tale by going back to 2009, when I moved to Fort Worth, Texas for medical school. Since my medical school was less than half an hour from the Rangers Ballpark, I had gone to more games than I have had in the past in 2010 and 2011. However, in 2011 I ended up getting sent to Longview in East Texas, two and a half hours away from the newly dubbed Globe Life Park, and the frequency of Rangers games went down dramatically. It slowed down even further after I had started internal medicine residency in Longview in July 2013. Between July 2013 and May 2015 I had gone to only one Rangers game, and that was the loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in the tie-break game. It was just as well as the Rangers collapsed to a putrid 67-95 record in 2014.
However, by May 2015 I was in my second year of residency, and had some more electives, which were much less busy than the core medicine rotations. That month I had a geriatric rotation, which left weekends free. I was able to go watch the surprising Houston Astros beat the Toronto Blue Jays in Houston, then drive up to my old stomping grounds in Overland Park Kansas where I attended a Kansas City Royals game with my friends Jason and Adam. Adam was from Texas, and he told me that he was going to the Rangers game on the 31st with another friend Amy. I decided to get tickets to the game for me and my friend Brandi, and we promised to keep it a secret from Adam and Amy. I did end up picking up a night shift to help out another one of my fellow residents, but I wasn't going to let that deter me from my first Rangers game since September 2013. I drove over to pick up Brandi west of Tyler, and together we made our way to Arlington, where we were on the lookout for Adam and Amy. I got Brandi some cheese fries, and we sat in a picnic table in the shade to escape the brutal Sunday heat. We got to talking about Texas Stadium, and I was showing Brandi the video of the demolition when Adam and Amy walked by. I pretended not to notice, but their reaction was priceless, it was well worth the two weeks of secrecy.
And then the game started. The Rangers had been terrible in April, a continuation of their terrible season the year before. They turned things around with a strong month of May, but all that accomplished was get them back to .500. Their opponents the Boston Red Sox were also coming off a season that was below expectations. They had gone from winning the World Series in 2013 to last place in 2014, and they were last place again with a 22-28 record, ahead of only the collapsing Oakland Athletics in the American League. The Rangers were starting one of their big offseason acquisitions, former Astros ace Wandy Rodriguez who was a key part of the team's turnaround in May as the team went 4-1 in his starts. Meanwhile the Red Sox was starting Joe Kelly. The future folk hero came to Boston in the John Lackey trade the year before. While he did well in 2014, he was absolutely miserable thus far in 2015, going 1-4 with an ugly 6.24 ERA.
And of course it was Wandy that faltered first. Promising young future star Markus Lynn "Mookie" Betts singled with one out, then went to second as David Ortiz grounded out. Hanley Ramirez singled and Betts scored. Of course, the Rangers were determined not to be trailing for long. Rule 5 draft pick Delino DeShields led off with a walk, then stole second. Shin-Soo Choo struck out, looking much like the free agent bust after a poor 2014 season in Texas, but Prince Fielder followed with a single sending DeShields to third. Up next was Adrian Beltre. The Texas legend was the one Rangers players who had a strong season in 2014, but his 2015 season echoed the fortunes of the team. He was absolutely horrible in April, barely breaking the Mendoza Line at the end of April as the Rangers faltered to a 7-14 record. However, he recovered to hit .283/.305/.450, still below his normal production in Texas but enough to help the Rangers get back to .500. He battled Kelly for seven pitches before hitting a grounder to third on the eighth pitch. Boston third baseman Pablo Sandoval had only the play at first as DeShields scored to tie the game. Another groundout got Kelly out of the inning.
The Red Sox went right back to work in the second. Sandoval led off with a single, and went to second on a groundout. Wandy struck out Blake Swihart, but expensive Cuban defect Rusney Castillo singled to put runners on the corner. That brought up former MVP Dustin Pedroia, who hit a sharp grounder towards third. Adrian Beltre prided himself on his defensive play at third base, but the ball hit a cleat mark of some sort and caromed upward too fast for Adrian to handle. Sandoval sored with ease, and Boston was back on top. The error burned at Beltre, and he swore to take revenge in the third. The Rangers had two runners on after Choo walked, and Fielder was safe on a fielder's choice after reigning Gold Glove second baseman Pedroia dropped a feed from shortstop Xander Bogaerts that ruined a potential double play. Adrian delivered when he singled up the middle for his 2,656th career hit. Choo scored and the game was tied once again. The Rangers had an opportunity to add more, as Elvis Andrus reached on an error by Red Sox third baseman Sandoval, but Leonys Martin grounded to first to end the inning.
The Rangers' prospects would soon fall even further. Adrian led off the fifth inning with another single, his second hit of the day. The next batter, Mitch Moreland, hit a little grounder to second. Second baseman ranged to his left to field the ball and fed it to shortstop Bogaerts to force Beltre. Adrian made a hard but legal slide to keep Bogaerts from turning the double play. However, the cheer from the crowd quickly turned to a concerned silence as Beltre had jammed his left thumb sliding into the bag, and as it turned out he tore a ligament in that left thumb. The Red Sox took advantage of this by stranding Moreland at first, then taking the lead in the sixth. Ramirez singled to lead off the inning, then stole second. Wandy was able to retire the next two batters, but Ramirez stole second, and he scored when Bogaerts singled. Swihart singled as well to end Wandy's day. The Texas bullpen came on and pitched well, but the Red Sox relievers kept the Rangers off the board as well.
It was not a hot day, as the temperature was only 77 at the start of the ballgame. However, our seats were all along the third base side, which bore the brunt of the sunlight for all of the game. We suffered through the sweat and the tears until the top of the ninth, when we finally retreated to the shade. The Red Sox made one last ditch effort to add an insurance run before the bottom of the ninth. Ross Ohlendorf, the man once traded for Randy Johnson, came on in relief. Castillo greeted him with a single, and stole second. Ohlendorf retired the next two batters, but the Cuban was able to take third on a groundout. Up next was David Ortiz, with his 472 career home runs. Rather than give him an opportunity to hit a home run, Rangers manager Jeff Banister opted to intentionally walk Big Papi and take his chances facing Ramirez. Hanley had two hits on the day, but he rewarded the Rangers by popping to first in foul territory.
That brought up the bottom of the ninth. According to win probability, the Rangers only had a 19% shot of winning the game, but it might have been even lower than that. The Red Sox had their closer Koji Uehara, who had a 1.76 ERA and saved 10 of 11 opportunities. The first batter he faced was rookie Hanser Alberto, who already had two hits in the game. Uehara got the young Dominican to hit a grounder towards third baseman Sandoval, but Kung Fu Panda let the ball get by him for his second error of the game. DeShields followed with a sacrifice bunt, moving Alberto to second but dropping the win probability which had climbed to 32% with a single. Choo grounded out as well, but with Alberto taking third it meant Uehara faced the same situation Ohlendorf did the top of the inning. Prince Fielder was next. Fielder had come over in the ill-fated trade with the Detroit Tigers for Ian Kinsler. Fielder's durability made him a target, but he got off to a slow start, and his season ended in June due to neck pain. He had all off-season to recover, and he seemed to have rediscover his earlier form, as he was blasting .361/.412/.569 heading into the game. Red Sox manager John Farrell wanted no part of Prince's bat, so had intentionally walked Fielder to face Adam Rosales, who had taken over at third after Beltre's injury. Or so he thought.
As Uehara went to 2-0 on Fielder, the hitter that came to the on-deck circle was not Rosales but Josh Hamilton, who had made a triumphant return to Texas earlier in the week. The tale of Josh Hamilton had been well documented. He was the first overall pick by the Devil Rays in 1999, and signed with a massive $3.96 million signing bonus. With more money than he knew what to do with, Hamilton quickly fell into drug abuse. His play suffered, and at one point he was out of baseball and living on the streets. However, he found the Christian message and with the help from a strong support, he picked himself up out of the gutter and worked his way back into baseball. He returned to minor league ball, and had good enough of an abbreviated season that the Cincinnati Reds picked him up by way of the Cubs through the Rule 5 draft. The Reds had to keep Hamilton on the Major League roster the entire year, and he gave them no reason to do so as he hit .292/.357/.556 with 19 home runs. The Rangers had their eyes on the young outfielder, and that off-season offered a trade package that included pitchers Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera. With the team hurting for pitching, the Reds made the deal. It soon became clear who won the trade.
In his first year in Texas, Josh Hamilton led the league with 130 RBIs, and put on a historical performance at the Home Run Derby in that year's All-Star game. Two years later he hit .359/.411/.633 and won the MVP in convincing fashion. He later took home the ALCS MVP title as well as he helped the Rangers reach their first All-Star game. His game took a step back in 2011, but he put himself in position to be a World Series with a go-ahead two-run home run in the tenth inning in Game 6. Alas, the Texas bullpen failed to hold a two-run lead for the second straight inning. He got off to a hot start in 2012 and hit four home runs in a game to put him in position to challenge for the Triple Crown. Sadly, he seemed to lack focus late in the season as the Rangers tried desperately to hang on for a third straight AL West title. Nevertheless his crucial error helped Texas blow a 5-1 lead to hand the division to the A's. Then he went 0-4 with two strikeouts and a double play in the first AL Wild Card game. The home team showered him with boos after he struck out on three pitches in his final plate appearance. That off-season he signed a massive five-year, $125 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. His play suffered, as he put up a .255/.316/.426 in two seasons while dealing with a shoulder injury. That off-season, he had a relapse in drug use as he was rehabbing from shoulder surgery. Rather than hiding the use, he reported it to Major League Baseball. The Angels were incensed. They tried to get Hamilton suspended, but an arbitrator ruled against the team. Los Angeles decided to do the next best thing and traded the outfielder to the only team Hamilton would accept: the Texas Rangers. The Angels figured he was too broken to cost the team a chance at a repeat AL West title.
Hamilton went back to the Rangers to complete his rehab. He worked his way back to the minors and returned to face the Cleveland Indians on May 25. He didn't do well against the Indians, but found his stroke by the time the Red Sox came to town. He doubled in the first game, then blasted two home runs in the second. He went hitless in the third game, but walked twice and scored a run. He received a day off for this Sunday matinee, but he was willing to pinch-hit at this crucial junction. Uehara went ahead to complete the walk, as Farrell would rather face a cold Hamilton than a red hot Fielder. At the time Boston's win probability was up to 80% due to the two-out situation. Uehara missed with the first pitch, but then threw a split-fingered fastball that Hamilton swung through. Seeing the swinging strike gave the Red Sox closer confidence to try the same pitch. However, the pitch didn't quite sink and Hamilton connected. The ball flew to the gap in left-center field, eluding both left fielder Brock Holt and center fielder Betts. Alberto was able to walk home with the tying run, while Fielder came barreling around the bases. He beat the throw with room to spare, and the Rangers had done it. They stole a win from the Red Sox to win the series. Not only that but it put them above .500 for the first time in almost a year. Josh Hamilton had consummated his triumphant return to Texas. He strained him hamstring on the play, but the win was a major highlight for a team that would turn it around and win a surprise division title. It was definitely a moment to remember.
And you can remember the walk-off here.
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May 27, 2017
Philadelphia Phillies 4, Cincinnati Reds 3
Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
WPA: .19
In case you're curious, I am writing this on the fourth anniversary of this game. A week from now I will be making a trip to the west coast in order to visit the last three active Major League Baseball stadiums that I have yet to see in the US. It would get me that much closer to completing a journey that had started back when I went to my first Kansas City Royals game on July 5, 1993. However, I didn't really take the quest all that seriously until 2012. My walk-off game at AT&T Park was just the eighth ballpark I had been to, and the fact that those included two defunct stadiums in Shea and RFK (both of which also featured walk-offs now that I think about it), I was really only at six active stadiums. However, that August I did a rotation for medical school in Akron, Ohio, located within three hours of four different ballparks. I made sure to hit all four of them and then Turner Field on the way back to Texas, and the trek was on. By 2017 I had Wrigley Field and Angel Stadium to the list. I had signed up for a vacation in May of that year in hopes of following the Rangers as Adrian Beltre went for his 3,000th hit. However, Beltre ended up starting the season on the disabled list, so I refashioned my itinerary to make it a trip to visit stadiums on the east coast I was missing, namely SunTrust Park, Citi Field, Yankee Stadium, and of course Citizens Bank Park.
Citizens Bank Park was second on my list. We had actually driven by the stadium on the way to New York for the mission trip in 2007, but this would be the first time I would stop for the game. The Phillies would be hosting the Reds. Back in 2010 this might have been an exciting match-up as both were playoff teams and even faced each other in the Division Series. However, Philadelphia collapsed after losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2011 Division Series. They earned the number 1.1 draft pick for 2016 (wasting it on the underwhelming Mickey Moniak), and they looked to be well on their way to another one as their 16-30 record was tied for the worst in the Majors. Meanwhile Cincinnati managed to make the playoffs two more times but had their own collapse as well. They had two straight last place finishes and were trying to avoid a third.
I woke up early to make the three hour drive to Philadelphia, and was greeted with the tragic news that Hall of Fame pitcher and Phillies legend Jim Bunning had died the night before at the age of 85. By the time I had reached the ballpark they had already installed a black ribbon in his honor for his picture on the Phillies Wall of Fame. They also held a moment of silence in his honor before the game. In less depressing news, former Phillies pitcher Tommy Greene was making an appearance. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to bring his baseball card, but I managed to have him sign my scorecard. The Philadelphia was Jerad Eickhoff, the youngster who was dealt to the Phillies from the Rangers in the Cole Hamels trade. He was excellent in his first two season in Philadelphia, but had hit a bit of a rough patch in 2017 and was 0-5 with a 4.70 ERA. Meanwhile his mound opponent was Bronson Arroyo. The former 2004 Red Sox legend had disappeared from Major League action when he suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in mid-2014. He had Tommy John surgery, but suffered numerous setbacks as he spent time with four different organizations trying to revive his career. He returned to the Reds, with whom he had his most success, and made the team out of spring training. He won three times to put him just two wins away from the 150-win milestone, but also sported an ugly 6.75 ERA.
It was Eickhoff who was shaky early on. He allowed a single and a stolen base to speedster Billy Hamilton to lead off the ballgame, then a two-run home run to Zack Cozart to put Philadelphia in an 0-2 hole. Things seemed to get worse when he hit former MVP Joey Votto with a pitch, but managed to get out of the inning with no further damage. Arroyo proved to be no better, as the Phillies teed off the 40-year-old. Cesar Hernandez led off the bottom of the first with a home run, and Michael Saunders did the same in the second to tie the game. Eickhoff worked his way through a couple of baserunners in the third and the fourth, but got out of it with no damage. The Phillies offense rewarded his efforts with another home run, this time by Tommy Joseph in the bottom of the fourth. They put a runner on third in the fifth when Freddy Galvis doubled then made it to third on a sacrifice fly, but Arroyo stranded him there. Then the Reds worked on tying the game in the sixth. Eugenio Suarez singled, and then stole second. Up next was the scrappy Scooter Gennett. In ten days time Gennett would make history by hitting four home runs in a game, but on this day he lined a double to right. That was still enough to tie the game. Eickhoff's day was done, and shortly afterward Arroyo was lifted for a pinch-hitter, and the game became a battle of the bullpens.
The relievers on both sides pitched admirably, with the only real trouble coming in the sixth. Phillies reliever Edubray Ramos got a groundout to move Gennett to third, then walked pinch-hitter Patrick Kivlehan. He then threw a wild pitch that catcher Cameron Rupp couldn't corral and couldn't find. It allowed Kivlehan to advance, but the ball was sitting along the baseline, and Gennett had no choice but to stay at third. He struck out Hamilton to end the threat. The game soon went to the bottom of the ninth. Reds manager called on the last of his trusted set-up men in Michael Lorenzen, a year before the former Cal State Fullerton Titan attempted to become a two-way player. Things quickly went south for Cincinnati. Aaron Altherr led off with a single, then went to second on a wild pitch. Up next was Tommy Joseph, who already had a home run earlier in the game. Joseph was the key return in the trade that sent Hunter Pence to the San Francisco Giants. He floundered in the minors as he struggled with injuries and concussions kept him from reaching his potential. He finally made the Majors in 2016 and performed admirably, with a .257/.308/.505 slashline and 21 home runs. He struggled in April of 2017 but a strong month of May put his season numbers close to his 2016 totals. He had a game-tying home run and a walk-off single two days earlier, and a go-ahead home run earlier in the day. He delivered yet again, slashing a grounder between second and short to send Alherr home with the winning run. It was fairly mundane as far as walk-offs go, but the Phillies would finish last again with a 66-96, and wins of any sort was well worth celebrating.
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October 14, 2017
Houston Astros 2, New York Yankees 1
ALCS Game 2
Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
WPA: .37
The Houston Astros are likely the most hated team in baseball now, but before they became pariahs from their sign stealing scandals, they were celebrated for their willingness to tank in a way that had not been seen in the likes of 100 years. From 2011-2013 they were the first team since the New York Mets in 1962-1966 to lose at least 105 games in three straight years. Yet this allowed them to build up a solid crew of young players. In 2014, Sports Illustrated famously put the Astros on the cover and crowned them the 2017 World Champions, back when they were locked in a battle with the Texas Rangers for fourth place. In 2015 they made a run for the AL West, but they faltered against their interstate rivals to end up the Wild Cards, then blew a lead spectacularly against the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals in the Division Series. After an off-year in 2016, they stormed out of the gates in 2017 and built up a commanding lead that never fell below 10 games after May. They went through a rough patch in August and early September, when their season was interrupted by the arrival of Hurricane Harvey. Yet they still finished with 101 wins, second in franchise history and the second most in the American League, behind 2016 World Series losers Cleveland Indians.
I had been to a few playoff games to watch the Rangers, but with the Rangers falling below .500 in 2017, the Astros were my best shot to watch a playoff game that year. Alas, Houston was three hours away, and the only chance I'd have to make it out there to a game was if it falls on a weekend. The team with the better record has home field advantage in the playoffs, and while the Astros had the home field advantage over the Boston Red Sox in the Division Series, that meant the weekend games would have bene played in Fenway Park. As expected the Astros defeated the Red Sox to move onto the ALCS. Most people expected their opponents to the Indians, who were facing the New York Yankees in their Division Series. If the Astros had to face the Indians, then Cleveland would have home field advantage and the Houston games would have been Monday 10/16 through Wednesday 10/18. However, the Yankees pitching kept the Indians in check, and they stormed back from an 0-2 series deficit to force a Game 5. And if New York advanced then the Astros would have home field advantage and the Houston games would be Friday 10/13 and Saturday 10/14. I had to work an overnight shift on the night of the 13th, but I'd get off early enough to drive to Houston to watch Game 2. So I tuned in to watch Game 5 between the Yankees and the Indians. New York took a 3-0 lead with two runs by Didi Gregorius. Cleveland clawed back against Yankee starter CC Sabathia, but reliever and prodigal son David Robertson came in and shut down the Indians. I was looking on StubHub while following the game, and as soon as closer Aroldis Chapman struck out Austin Jackson I purchased two tickets for myself and my Houston brony friend Irvin. I would be going to the game.
I worked the 14-hour night shift on Friday October 13 and got off at 8 in the morning. After that it was on the road for the three-hour drive to Minute Maid Park. I was buzzed from the 3L of Diet Mountain Dew I drank over my night shift, and made it to the stadium (or more specifically my parking spot) without getting into an accident. Irvin was already there as the stadium gates opened at 11am. Although we were only limited to the outfield area, we hung out watching the Astros take batting practice. At 1:00 the infield areas were opened to the public, and we got down and got a spot next to the field. Collin McHugh and Lance McCullers Jr. were playing catch while the Yankees were taking batting practice, and as they came in McCullers stopped to sign some autographs, including a card I had brought. Nothing else happened in the rest of time there, so at 2:30 when the security shooed us away we went to our seat. The Yankees were starting their young stud Luis Severino, who had pitched poorly in the Wild Card Game but came back with a solid start in Game 4 of the ALDS. The Astros countered with their 188-win veteran Justin Verlander, who they acquired in a trade with the Detroit Tigers just in time for him to be eligible for the post-season roster. Verlander had a spectacular career in Detroit, finishing second in bWAR among pitchers to only Prince Hal Newhouser. He pitched fairly well in previous LCS action, sporting a 3-2 record with a 3.55 ERA going into the game. Of course, he started Game 1 of the 2011 ALCS, the only other LCS game I attended. He allowed three runs in four innings. I was obviously rooting for the Rangers at the time, but now I was rooting for the Astros.
Verlander first pitch to Yankees leadoff man Brett Gardner was a ball, but he threw only one other ball the rest of the inning, sending Gardner and rookie sensation Aaron Judge down swinging before getting ALDS hero Gregorius on a flyout. The Astros got their starts Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa with two outs in the bottom of the inning, but new daddy Marwin Gonzalez grounded out weakly to the pitcher. The game continued on much in the same style. Verlander got two more strikeouts in the second around a weak single to Starlin Castro. Severino walked Cuban sensation Yulieski Gurriel but got Alex Bregman to ground into a double play. Astros left fielder chased down a Chase Headley line at the top of the wall in left field, and one batter later he threw Gardner out at third trying to stretch a double to a triple in a play that was overturned on review. After Verlander pitched a one-two-three fourth, the game was deadlocked into the bottom of the fourth. Carlos Correa stepped up with one out. Correa was the #1 overall draft pick in 2012 after the Astros lost 106 games in 2011. He was the only one of Houston's three straight 1.1 picks that panned out, but developed into a spectacular shortstop with power. He won Rookie of the Year in 2015 over the Indians' own shortstop sensation Francisco Lindor, and in 2017 he was second on the Astros in bWAR despite missing a month and a half with a thumb injury. With a 1-2 count, Severino tried to throw a 99-mph fastball down and away, but it missed up and Correa lined it to right field. The ball barely made it across the fence, glancing off the glove of a young fan. It brought to mind the exploits of 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier who helped corral a Derek Jeter home run in the 1996 ALCS. This time there was replay review for home runs, and Yankees manager Joe Girardi made the most of it, calling for a reply. However, the replay showed the ball going over the fence before hitting the kid's glove. Correa's home run counted, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead, and the kid didn't have to get ejected.
So the Astros had a 1-0 lead for Verlander, and he came out firing, striking out the first two batters in the fifth. However, he allowed a line drive double to Aaron Hicks, and then Todd Frazier came up and hit a ball even harder towards center field. The ball sailed towards the Yankees bullpen, where a chain link fence separated the bullpen from the playing field. The ball got lodged between the fence and the padding. A confused Frazier rounded the bases, but the umpire ruled the ball dead and awarded a ground-rule double. Granted with a reprieve, Verlander got Headley to line out to end the inning. He went back to being his dominating self from that point forward. He struck out two in the sixth and one in the seventh to give him 10 for the day. It was the second straight game that a Houston started struck out 10, after Dallas Keuchel pulled off the trick in Game 1. Meanwhile, the Yankees went to their bullpen and relievers Tommy Kahnle and Robertson were marvelous, allowing only a two-out Gurriel double in the seventh. One of the major storylines in the 2017 playoffs was the heavy workload for relievers. No starters had gotten into the eighth inning, at least not until Verlander came out to pitch the eighth. And he was dominant, striking out the side on 12 pitches to bring his total to 13, setting a new personal record for a post-season game, and one behind Mike Scott for the Houston record. He went for the record by coming out in the ninth, much to the surprise and delight of the crowd. He didn't strike out a batter, but pitched around a Gregorius single to retire the side with no damage.
It was now the bottom of the ninth with the game tied 1-1. Girardi sent out his closer Chapman to bring the game to extra innings. Chapman had been the hardest throwing pitcher since defecting from Cuba in 2010. He debuted with the Cincinnati Reds that year, and sparkled until he was traded to the Yankees prior to the 2016 season. He did well in New York and wound up getting traded to the Chicago Cubs. He helped the Cubs win the World Series for the first time since 1908 before signing back with the Yankees as a free agent. He was almost 30, but was still capable of dialing his fastball up into the upper 90s. However, the Astros were one of the best fastball-hitting teams. Chapman started out well, striking out Reddick for only the fourth Astros strikeout of the day. Up stepped Jose Altuve, the diminutive second baseman who stands only 5'6", which many felt was being generous. He was signed out of Venezuela after persistently showing up to practice. He tore up minor league pitching and debuted with the 106-loss Astros. He was worth about 1 bWAR in each of those horrible seasons before breaking out in 2014, leading the league in hits, stolen bases, and batting average. He led the league in hits again in 2015-2017, and won two more batting titles in 2016 and 2017. He developed enough power to rip three home runs against the Red Sox in Game 1 of the ALDS, and scored the first run in Game 1 of the ALCS. He was only 1 for 3 in Game 2, but hit a grounder past the diving shortstop Gregorius for a single on Chapman's first pitch.
Next up was Correa, the man who scored the Astros' only run on his fourth inning home run. Chapman fell behind with two 99-mph fastballs that missed the strike zone. He followed with a slider that caught the middle of the plate, but missed with the next slider to bring the count to 3-1. Correa swung at the next pitch, a 98-mph fastball, but could only foul it back. After a pickoff attempt, Chapman came back with another 99mph fastball. Correa was ready. He connected and lined it to right field for a hit. Right fielder Judge cut the ball off and threw to Gregorius covering second, Meanwhile, Altuve was rounding third and was being waved home by Astros third base coach Gary Pettis. Gregorius saw this and fired the ball towards catcher Gary Sanchez at home as Correa was sliding into second. The ball arrived well before Altuve and it looked like Jose would be dead at home, but it took a short hop and Sanchez couldn't corral the ball. Altuve slid in safely with the winning run, pounding home plate with his fist for emphasis as Minute Maid Park erupted in pandemonium. The Astros had won and would be taking a 2-0 lead to New York. They would go on to win the Series, then topple the Los Angeles Dodgers in a seven-game World Series to secure their first ever World Series title.
By WPA, Correa's hit only added .37 to the win probability, given the fact that the Astros had a runner on first with one out. However, WPA doesn't capture the nail-biting drama of the game. I have never seen a 1-0 game, so the three runs scored was tied for the fewest of any of the games I've been to, and it was the only one that was tied 1-1 going into the ninth. Justin Verlander threw only the fourth complete game that I had ever seen, and his 13 strikeouts are still a personal high for me. The fact this was a post-season walk-off only served to magnify the accomplishment. Altuve was certainly aided by Sanchez's inability to corral the throw, but his mad dash was reminiscent of the one by Enos Slaughter in Game 7 of the 1946 World Series, as he also scored the go-ahead run on a double. The sign-stealing scandal has marred the accomplishments of the 2017 Astros including this game, but I still have fond memories of this satisfying conclusion to a satisfying day.
You can watch the tainted walk-off here.
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May 26, 2018
Texas Rangers 4, Kansas City Royals 3
Globe Life Park, Arlington, TX
WPA: .35
As I mentioned in an earlier game, back in 2015 I took a trip to Kansas along with my friend Adam and we watched a Royals game with my friend Jason. We were hoping to watch the first place Royals sweep their interstate rivals, but alas it was not to be. The late Yordano Ventura (1991-2017) pitched a stinker and the St. Louis Cardinals salvaged a win. Nevertheless, the Royals got the last laugh by winning the World Series after coming oh so close the year before. Three years later, Adam and I have invested in season tickets for the Texas Rangers, and we saw that the Royals would be in town for Arlington for Memorial Day. We remembered the trip from 2015 and decided to return the favor and asked Jason if he was willing to come down to watch the Royals play our local team. Even though the Royals' fortunes had turned and they were now one of the worst teams in baseball, Jason agreed and we made plans to watch the game on Saturday May 26 without Adam, who had to work, and go all together on Sunday May 27.
The Rangers had been another playoff team in 2015, then finished with the best record in the American League in 2016 (despite a mediocre run differential). Yet by 2018 the Rangers were in last place just like their opponents the Royals. They were hampered by the worst pitching in baseball. Nevertheless there was still some excitement about the game, as Texas would be starting the folk hero Bartolo Colon. Colon had debuted as a slim fireballer in 1997, 21 years earlier, for a Cleveland Indians team that would reach the World Series that season. While Bartolo didn't pitch in the postseason that year, he became the ace for Indians team that made the playoffs three times between 1998-2001. In 2002 Colon was having his best season and was 10-4 with a 2.55 ERA before the trade deadline, but Cleveland was falling into also-ran status. So they traded him to a team hoping for a competitive season to stay relevant: the Montreal Expos. Bartolo finished his season by going 10-4 in Canada, but the Expos finished well out of contention. They traded Colon to the Chicago White Sox, where he won his 100th career game in 2003. Then he signed with the Anaheim Angels, soon to be the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Bartolo won 18 games despite a 5.01 ERA in 2004, but then lowered his ERA by over a run and a half a year later. With his sparkling 21 wins, he was named the American League Cy Young. The Angels finished first both seasons, but Colon struggled in the postseason and the team could get no further than the ALCS. Bartolo tore his rotator cuff in the 2005 playoffs, then went 14-21 in four injury-marred seasons while pitching for the three teams, including the Boston Red Sox, with whom he won his 150th game in 2008.
Colon sat out all of 2010 while rehabbing his shoulders after receiving a controversial stem cell transplant. He signed with the New York Yankees in a comeback attempt, and was surprisingly decent, going 8-10 with a 4.00 ERA while qualifying for the ERA title. He moved to the Oakland Athletics and pitched well in 2012, but was suspended after testing positive for a synthetic testosterone in August. The A's still re-signed him, and he was even better in 2013, making his first All-Star team since 2005 while finishing 18-6 with a 2.65 ERA that ranked second in the league. Bartolo moved to the New York Mets, after which he became a full-blown folk hero. Fans loved him for his rotund physique as he gained 100 pounds since his rookie season, and his ability to still make acrobatic plays. They laughed at his futile attempts at the plate, and marveled when he managed to hit his first Major League home run two weeks before his 43rd birthday. Along the way he went 44-34 and won his 200th Major League game in 2014. He went on to pitch for the Atlanta Braves and the Minnesota Twins in 2017, but was mostly terrible and ended the season with 240 wins, five behind Denny Martinez for the most by a Latin American player. He signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers. They released him near the end of March but signed him to another contract two days later. He wasn't expected to play much of a role with the Rangers, but he forced his way into the rotation due to injuries to other starters, and he pitched well in his opportunities. By May 26 he had 242 wins and a decent 3.51, even though he was making his first start after his 45th birthday two days earlier.
Alas, even though his 15 wins against the Royals were more than any other team except the Rangers and the Seattle Mariners, they have also knocked him around to a 5.04 ERA. And after the Rangers failed to take advantage of two walks against Kansas City starter Ian Kennedy in the first, it was the Royals that struck first. Texas native Hunter Dozier led off the third with an infield single up the middle, then advanced to second on a groundout. World Series hero Alcides Escobar followed with another single to put runners on the corner. A double play could get the old veteran out of the inning, but the top of the order prevented that from happening. 2011 Cardinals alum Jon Jay singled to score Dozier, then Whit Merrifield lined a double to left to clear the bases and give the Royals a 3-0 lead. Colon would get out of the inning with no further damage, giving the Rangers a chance to claw their way back. Delino DeShields singled with one out in the bottom of the inning, and also advanced to second. Rookie utility infielder/catcher Isiah Kiner-Falefa was next, and he bounced a single through the 5.5 hole, allowing the speedy DeShields to score easily. Kiner-Falefa went to second on a wild pitch before Nomar Mazara followed with a bouncer to third. Third baseman Mike Moustakas caught the young Hawaiian trying to round third to score the Huge run. He caught the rookie in a rundown to end the inning. The Rangers weren't done. Jurickson Profar led off the bottom of the fourth with a triple that rolled all the way to the wall. Joey Gallo followed with a booming double to get the Huge run home. Rougned Odor followed with a sacrifice bunt to move Gallo to third, but after a failed squeeze the Texas slugger was stranded there.
Nevertheless, Colon sailed through the next two innings, and the Rangers had another shot in the sixth. Kennedy left the game in favor of Brad Keller, a Rule 5 draft pick from the Arizona Diamondbacks by way of the Cincinnati Reds that was trying to stick in the Majors all year. He had become one of the Royals' most effective reliever, with a 1.77 ERA going into the game. He walked Gallo on a full count with one out. With the count 2-2 on Odor, Gallo took off for second. Catcher Salvador Perez's throw went wide of the bag, and Gallo had himself a rare stolen base. That turned out to be an important play as Odor grounded back to the pitcher, with Gallo taking third. This time Texas was more successful in bringing the tying run home, as rookie Ronald Guzman hit the first pitch off the wall for an RBI double. The Royals attempted to reclaim the lead in the seventh when Dozier led off with a double, but Colon stranded him there. After that the game became a battle of the bullpens. Keller had no trouble getting through the Rangers in the seventh, while Jose Leclerc worked around a leadoff walk for a scoreless eighth. Tim Hill allowed a one-out double to Profar in the bottom of the eighth, but left unscathed with a pair of strikeouts. Chris Martin kept the Royals scoreless in the ninth while Kevin McCarthy did the same to the Rangers. The game would be heading into extra innings. I had seen five extra-inning games before this one, but the road team had won all but the June 1, 2007 game profiled earlier. The Rangers brought in lefty sidearmer Alex Claudio to keep the Royals from doing so, and he came through with a trio of groundouts. Meanwhile, Kansas City manager Ned Yost stuck with McCarthy for the tenth. McCarthy was the Royals' best reliever from 2017 who didn't end up leaving the team for greener pastures like Mike Minor, who signed with the Rangers.
Leading off for Texas was the veteran Shin-Soo Choo, who had a frustrating day at the plate. He walked in the first, but went 0 for 3 after that. By then Choo already had a firm grasp on his status as the most accomplished player to come out of Korea. He was signed by the Seattle Mariners out of high school in 2000, and bounced around the Mariners minor league system before making his Major League debut in 2005. He played in only 14 games in Seattle before getting traded to the Indians. He blossomed in Cleveland, hitting .300 in his first three full seasons, and showing a penchant for getting on base. He also had some power, hitting 20 homers in 2009 and 2010. He was traded to the Reds prior to the 2013 season, and he posted an exception .423 OBP from 112 walks and 26 times hit by pitch. He turned that performance into a 7-year $130 million contract with the Rangers in 2014, but he struggled with injuries as Texas fell to last place. His performance improved the next few years, and while he was never the on-base machine he was in Ohio, he still reached base over 35% of his plate appearances. He got off to a hot start in 2018 before slumping. He seemed to climb out of the day before with three walks and a home run. The home run was the 175th of his career, tying him with Hideki Matsui for the most by an Asian-born player. His walk in the first helped him extend a streak of 12 games reaching base, but he hoped to do more stepping in against McCarthy. Choo got ahead of the count 3-1, and McCarthy tried to get a fastball inside. It sailed out over the plate, and Choo did not miss. He blasted the ball over the center field wall and into the Royals bullpen. The crowd cheered deliriously as Choo rounded the bases for his third career walk-off piece to give the Rangers the win. It also gave him the title of Asian-born Major League home run king. The Royals would have the last laugh by dominating Cole Hamels and the Rangers a day later to allow Jason to watch a win, but the Rangers had their walk-off.
Watch the walk-off here (MLB video)
Watch the walk-off here (my video)
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May 19, 2019
Texas Rangers 5, St. Louis Cardinals 4
Globe Life Park, Arlington, TX
WPA: .16
2019 marked the final year that the Texas Rangers would spend in Globe Life Park, their home since 1994. It was the stadium where they made all eight of their postseason appearances, including their two trips to the World Series. It was the site of such milestones as Kenny Rogers's perfect game. Rafael Palmeiro's 500th home run, and Adrian Beltre's 3,000th hit. The schedule for the final season was full of intriguing match-ups, from the Opening Series against the Chicago Cubs to the final series against the hated New York Yankees. Of the many series in the middle, the most compelling to many Rangers fans likely came on May 17-19 as Texas would be hosting the St. Louis Cardinals. The two teams hadn't had much history together for 50 seasons, with the two teams facing off in a competitive setting only in an interleague series in 2004. The Cardinals dominated the three-game series, winning two games by a combined score of 27-16, but otherwise there was no bad blood. All that would change in 2011, when the Rangers won their second straight AL pennant to face off against the Wild Card Cardinals, who made the playoffs on the last day of the regular season, then squeaked past the Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers to capture the pennant. The two teams split the first two games in St. Louis thanks to a late rally in Game 2. The Cardinals dominated Game 3, winning 16-7 behind Albert Pujols's historic World Series Mookie, but the Rangers won the next two home games to put themselves just one win from their first ever title. Alas it was not to be, as Texas lost Game 6 in heartbreaking fashion and faltered in Game 7 as well. The Rangers would never come so close to a World Series title ever again.
Rangers fans never forgot the pain and agony of 2011, and they cheered when Texas swept both interleague rematches against the Cardinals in 2013 and 2016. However, both of those series were in the St. Louis House of Horrors, which meant this series would be the first time the Cardinals were playing in Texas since Game 5 of the 2011 World Series, a game the Rangers won thanks to a bullpen miscommunication by Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, The series took on an extra level of meaning as two weeks prior to the game, the Dallas Stars held a 3-2 series lead against the St. Louis Blues in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but couldn't close the series at home in Game 6 before dropping Game 7 on the road in double overtime. It was the second time since the 2011 World Series that the Blues eliminated the Stars in seven games in the second round. Both teams were mired in third place, with the Texas a few games below .500 and the Cardinals a few games above .500. The intrigue level was still fairly high. The Rangers won the first game of the series handily, scoring seven runs off their former starter Miles Mikolas in the second inning and cruising to a 7-3 win. However, the Cardinals used a big inning of their own, a five-run fifth, to capture the second game 8-2, thus setting up a rubber game for the Sunday showdown.
The Rangers were starting Drew Smyly, one of the many reclamation projects they had to set up their 2019 rotation. Smyly had pitched fairly well with the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays earlier in the decade, but hadn't pitched since 2016 while undergoing a difficult rehab from Tommy John surgery. He had been gut-wrenchingly awful in his return, posting a 6.85 ERA going into this game, but he had actually pitched better since returning from a late-April stint on the Injured List. He clearly didn't have it on this day. Harrison Bader led off with a double, the St. Louis's hot new trade acquisition Paul Goldschmidt worked a full-count walk. Paul DeJong showed why he was the Cardinals' best hitter as he blasted a double to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead. The Cardinals threatened to add more runs when Yadier Molina walked and combined with DeJong on a double steal, but Smyly settled down and ended the inning. The Rangers finally had a chance to face off against the Cardinals; highly touted young fireballer Jack Flaherty. Flaherty was a a first-round draft pick out of Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles. He had gone 8-9 with a 2.75 ERA and 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings as a rookie the year before. He wasn't quite as dynamic in the first month and a half of 2019, and Shin-Soo Choo hit a hanging breaking ball out for a Huge home run to lead off the bottom of the inning. Alas that was the only damage Flaherty would allow in the first.
Smyly would work in and out of trouble for the next three innings, but the game remained 2-1 going into the bottom of the fourth. Flaherty opened the inning by walking Logan Forsythe, one of the veteran hitters the Rangers signed for 2019. Nomar Mazara flied out to bring up Hunter Pence, the other veteran Texas hoped could bring some legitimacy to the team. Pence had grown up in Arlington as a Rangers fan, but he won a World Series with the San Francisco Giants in 2012 and 2014. He had two more good seasons after 2014 before his performance faltered until he hit .226/.258/.332 in 2018, and the Giants bid him farewell. His childhood team signed him to a minor league contract, and he rewarded them by making the team and storming to a .301/.362/.624 going into this game. He came through by lining a double into left to tie the game. Smyly's day was over now that the Rangers had tied the game. Replacing him was Jose Leclerc, who went into 2019 as the closer after an absolutely dominating 2018 when he sported a 1.56 ERA and struck out 85 in 57.2 innings (a 13.3 strikeout / 9 inning ratio). However, he struggled mightily after a disastrous outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 9, and he was moved to a setup role to pitch in less strenuous situations. He showed how good he could be by striking out five of six batters he faced in two innings.
Meanwhile the Rangers couldn't muster any more runs against Flaherty despite a leadoff double by Choo in the sixth. The Cardinals called upon Andrew Miller, the former first-round bust as a starter that evolved into a shutdown reliever. He was close to ending the Cleveland Indians' 68-year World Series drought in 2016. He signed with St. Louis despite a down season in 2018 and continued to struggle in Missouri. He still came through with a scoreless ninth. The Cardinals stuck with him in the eighth, expecting the southpaw Miller to face left-handed first baseman Ronald Guzman. Instead, Texas sent up pinch hitter Danny Santana. The Rangers had signed Santana to a minor league deal after four uninspiring seasons with the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves following a dynamic rookie season in 2014. He started the season with AAA Nashville, but was called up in mid-April and made a splash in his first plate appearance, a go-ahead triple against the Oakland Athletics on April 14. He had become one of the top hitters on the team by hitting .309/.353/.489, but he started the game on the bench after being hit by a pitch in the ankle the day before. He hammered a pitch that went just foul before lining a home run into left field to give the Rangers the lead. Miller retired two more batters before giving way to the Cardinals' flamethrowing Jordan Hicks. Hicks and his >100-mph fastball was trusted to come in for non-save situations as well. He worked around an infield single to Forsythe before ending the inning.
With a one-run lead to protect, Rangers manager Chris Woodward went with Arlington native Charis Martin. The 6'8" Martin signed with Texas after two seasons with the Nippon Ham Fighters, and was being trusted to close games with Leclerc's struggles and an injury to replacement closer Shawn Kelley. He hadn't had many opportunities, but recorded a save before three appearances in non-save situations. This time he got one out to bring up Dexter Fowler, the 2016 World Series hero who was trying to recover from a mortifying 2018 season when he hit .180/.276/.576. He was doing better in 2019 and was hitting above .300/.420/.430 earlier in the month, but was looking for his first hit in five days. He found Martin's fastball to his liking, and on the ninth pitch of the at-bat lined a fastball into the home run porch for a game-tying home run. The Rangers couldn't muster any offense against Hicks in the bottom of the ninth, and so the game would be going into the tenth. With Martin having expended 17 pitches in his inning of work, Woodward swapped to veteran Jeanmar Gomez. He was signed to a minor league contract, but made the Opening Day roster after a strong performance in spring training. Yet he was having a miserable regular season, with an 8.16 ERA. The Cardinals feasted on his diminished fastball as Bader lined his second leadoff double of the day and went to third on a groundout. DeJong brought him home with a sacrifice fly. The Cardinals threatened some more but Gomez was finally able to end the inning.
Nevertheless, the Cardinals had the lead, and St. Louis left Hicks out there to finish the game, even if he had thrown 22 pitches to get his four outs. Hicks could still his fastball to triple digits, but he struggled with his command as Rougned Odor lined a 102-mph fastball into center for a single, and Santana worked a walk. That would ordinarily bring up Jeff Mathis, a defensive catcher who was struggling at the plate with a .160/.203/.213 line after a single. Instead, up came Willie Calhoun, the former prospect that came over to Texas in the Yu Darvish trade. He played sparingly in 2017-2018 before working hard to improve his conditioning in the off-season, but a surplus of left-handed outfielders meant he had to start the season with AAA Nashville. He dealt with his disappointment and slugged in the minors before getting a call-up earlier in the week. He came through with 9 hits in his first 20 at-bats before getting a day off. He had the pinch-hitting opportunity and came through with a single to score Odor with the tying run, with Santana taking third,
Hicks's day was over with the blown save, and in came Carlos Martinez, no relation to the Carlos Martinez that homered off Jose Cansco's head. He was a former All-Star starter who went to the bullpen after an oblique injury in 2008. He had a shoulder strain that kept him on the injured list until May 17 and made his season debut a day earlier with a scoreless ninth. It was easy holding a six-run lead, but now he had to deal with a tie game and runners on the corners. He intentionally walked Choo to set up a force at home, then struck out Forsythe for a crucial out. Up next was Mazara, trying to erase a disappointing 0 for 4 day. He lifted a fly ball to shallow center that center fielder Bader caught easily. Bader is a solid defensive outfielder who had two assists earlier in the season. Nevertheless, Santana was willing to take the risk and raced down the line. Bader's throw was too far up the first base line, and Santana scored easily, gimpy ankle and all. The Rangers had themselves a walk-off winner. The win doesn't quite erase the miseries of the 2011 World Series or the Stars' losses in 2016 and 2019, but it was still a satisfying end.
Watch the walk-off here (MLB video)
Watch the walk-off here (my video)
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August 3, 2019
Texas Rangers 5, Detroit Tigers 4
Globe Life Park, Arlington, TX
WPA: .46
With 2019 being the final season of Globe Life Park, there are several teams that would be making their final appearances there throughout the year. Some of the match-ups are heavily anticipated, such as the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, or New York Yankees. One team that wouldn't generate much excitement was the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers were one of the top teams in the American League in the first half of the decade. They were the Rangers' ALCS opponent in 2011, then went to the World Series a year later. They won two more AL Central titles in 2013 and 2014, but then fell on hard times. They suffered through a last place finish in 2015, then had back-to-back 64-98 seasons in 2017 and 2018. As bad as those years were, 2019 would be the year Detroit hit rock bottom. They started the season decently, and had a 15-16 record as of May 5. Yet they collapsed to a 17-58 record in the next 75 games, a full season equivalent of a 37-125 record, and were 32-74 going into the Saturday game, by far the worst in baseball. Nevertheless, there were a few star players on the Tigers. There's future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera, whose bat had fallen to an empty .279/.339/.375 slashline with no defensive contributions. And then there's Jordan Zimmermann, the losing pitcher in Randy Johnson's 300th win. He had taken a perfect game into the seventh on Opening Day, yet still carried a 1-8 record and a 7.23 into the series. I hoped I can get both of their autographs, but Zimmermann didn't sign at all, while Cabrera signed for a multitude of fans but skipped me.
I was in the Rebecca Creek Club when the game started. On the mound for the Rangers was Adrian Sampson, the sixth time I was watching him pitch that season. Sampson is a native of the Pacific Northwest. He was drafted twice before finally signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2012. He toiled in the Pittsburgh farm system before they traded him to his hometown Seattle Mariners in 2015. Sampson did well with AAA Tacoma and made his anniversary on June 18, 2016, the 30th anniversary of Don Sutton's 300th win. However, he was shelled by the Boston Red Sox, then suffered a torn flexor tendon that cost him the rest of 2016. The Rangers picked him up on a waivers claim at the end of the season and stayed with him as he rehabbed from his injury. He spent most of 2018 with AAA Round Rock before getting called up when rosters expanded in September. He became a free agent at the end of the year but was re-signed on a minor league deal and opened some eyes in spring training. He opened the season with AAA Nashville but was called up before the end of the first week of games. Sampson pitched well in relief but struggled in his first few starts. The Rangers front office noticed Sampson had trouble getting settled in, and they paired him with an Opener on May 17 against the Cardinals. He performed admirably and picked up his first Major League win. He won twice more as the Primary Pitcher and began starting as a traditional Starter. He dominated in his first two June starts, striking out 11 Royals in seven innings on June 1, then a complete game victory against the Oakland Athletics on June 8. However, he struggled against the Red Sox in Fenway, then soon lost his spot in the rotation. Injuries forced him back in a starting role, but his ERA was an ugly 5.32 going into the game. And Sampson's struggles continued even facing the Tigers. Jacoby Jones led off with a double, then after a lineout future Hall of Famer Cabrera blasted a fastball over the plate onto Greene's Hill for his 472nd career home run. Brandon Dixon blasted a triple to continued Sampson's struggles, then he walked the bases load. Surprisingly he was able to leave the bases filled to keep the deficit at 0-2.
Meanwhile the Rangers took their turn against Tigers starter Matthew Boyd. Boyd grew up in Sammamish, Washington, Adrian Sampson's hometown, although he attended the private Eastside Catholic School instead of Sampson's public Skyline High School. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays out of Oregon State, and debuted in 2015, but he was sent to Detroit in the David Price trade, then established himself as one of the Tigers' top starters. There have been many analysts that thought Detroit should trade Boyd, but they held onto him and his 3.94 ERA past the trade deadline. He was making his first post-deadline start and was sharp, working around an Elvis Andrus double to keep the Tigers lead. Sampson continued to work in and out of trouble, aided by two double plays. Meanwhile it was Boyd that was struck next. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, in only his second game back from a finger injury, led of the third with a double off the out-of-town scoreboard. The Rangers had given up on their experiments with the Hawaiian as a catcher, and he was relieved of his duties as back-up catcher to Jeff Mathis by the man who followed him in the lineup, Jose Trevino. Trevino was an able backstop and won a minor league Gold Glove, but there were questions about his bat. He silenced some doubters when he lined an RBI single, scoring Kiner-Falefa with the Huge run. Boyd followed by walking Delino DeShields and the Texas fans were hoping for a big inning. Alas it was not to be as the next three batters all went down swinging. The Rangers did eventually tie the game in the fourth. Willie Calhoun took advantage of Boyd's penchant for the long ball and blasted a game-tying home run. However, the Rangers couldn't take advantage of a single by the embittered Rougned Odor and the game remained tied.
Sampson seemed like he would get through the fifth without much difficulty as he retired the first two battles, but Cabrera lined a single for his 2,774th career hit, tying him with Hall of Famer Andre Dawson. Dixon followed with a double, his second extra-base hit of the game. Cabrera had to hold at third as his speed had all but abandoned him, but he was able to jog home when Harold Castro grounded a single up the middle. Dixon scored as well as the Tigers built up another two-run lead. Sampson's night ended when he walked the next batter on four pitches, but former super-prospect Taylor Guerrieri came up and got out of the jam. Guerrieri got into a pickled of his own in the sixth when a double, a walk, and a wild pitch put runners on second and third with just one out, but he got out of it without damage thanks to a strikeout and a Cabrera groundout. The Rangers hadn't been able to get much done against Boyd since Calhoun's home run in the fourth. Calhoun led off the sixth, but could only manage a hard-hit groundout. Odor was then hit in the back after an eight-pitch battle. He jawed at the pitcher, but home plate umpire Eric Cooper (RIP 1966-2019) walked him to first, where he was stranded after reliever Buck Farmer came on to end the inning. Farmer was still on in the seventh to face the ninth-place hitter Trevino. The rookie hit a fly ball towards right field. Right fielder Travis Demeritte tracked the ball from his position in right-center. Demeritte was the Rangers' first-round draft pick in 2013, but they traded him to the Atlanta Braves who in turned traded him to the Tigers. He made his Major League the night before and had a triple and two walks. However, he misjudged this fly ball and missed it entirely as Trevino motored into second for a two-base error. The Rangers made the Tigers pay, as DeShields doubled into the game to drive in Trevino with the Huge run. A groundout sent DeShields to third, and he scored the tying run on Elvis's sacrifice fly.
With the game now tied, the game reached increasing levels of desperation with each passing inning. Brett Martin pitched the eighth for his second inning of work and walked Demeritte, but escaped with a pair of strikeouts. Blaine Hardy walked Odor and Scott Heineman, but Odor was caught stealing prior to the second walk so nothing came out of the inning. After Jesse Chavez pitched a one-two-three ninth, the Tigers brought in Trevor Rosenthal, who had a 22.74 ERA with the Washington Nationals before drawing his release. He pitched much better since signing with Detroit, but still hit Shin-Soo Choo, who had the day off (and was seen sporting a fake mustache in the dugout earlier in the game) but was pinch-hitting for Trevino. DeShields bunted Choo to second, but then Danny Santana struck out. Elvis followed with a hard line drive that appeared to be heading to right field for a walk-off hit, but second baseman Gordon Beckham robbed him with a diving grab. The game then entered extra innings. The Rangers had Jose Leclerc to come on and retire the side in order. The Tigers had less options and countered with Nick Ramirez, a rookie who turned 30 just two days earlier. He struggled with inconsistency and had a 4.64 ERA into this match-up, but he did retire the first two battles with little trouble.
Up next was Rougned Odor, the fiery Venezuelan second baseman. Odor had been a key member of division-winning teams in 2015 and 2016, and had won over many fans in Texas with his punch of Jose Bautista on May 15, 2016. Nevertheless, he struggled mightily in 2017, hitting .204/.252/.397 despite blasting 30 home runs. He turend things around in 2018, improving to .253/.326/.424 despite missing time due to a hamstring injury. However, his performance went back down into the pits in 2019. It took a frenzied 10-game stretch where he hit .359/.419/.821 just to get his batting line to .208/.270/.440 going into this game. He did add to it, with a single to go along with a walk and a hit-by-pitch. He worked the count full, getting a fortunate call on a checked swing. Then, with calls of "home run" ringing around the stadium, Ramirez threw a 91-mph fastball right down the middle. Odor didn't miss, and clubbed it into the visiting bullpen for the first Rangers walk-off piece since the Choo home run over a year earlier. It didn't matter that it was against the Tigers, who were now 32-75, the Rangers had themselves a come-from-behind, walk-off win, and the fans were none the merrier.
Relieve the walk-off here (MLB video)
Relieve the walk-off here (my video)
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August 9, 2019
Milwaukee Brewers 6, Texas Rangers 5
Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI
WPA: .46
I had made plenty of progress between 2017 and 2018 in my quest to visit every Major League Baseball stadium, and by 2019 the ballparks that remained were in the single digits. In particular, there only two stadiums left in the midwest: Miller Park in Milwaukee (now called American Family Field) and Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago. Before the season started I looked at the schedule to see when the Brewers and White Sox would be at home on the same weekend. I saw a couple of possibilities, but one that caught my eye was August 9-11, when the Brewers would be playing an interleague series against the Rangers. I like to watch the Rangers on the road whenever possible, catching them in Kansas City, Houston, Anaheim, Washington DC and Boston. I would love nothing more than to watch them on the road in another city, so I made plans to watch them play the Friday game before going to Chicago on Saturday and driving back to Texas on Sunday. I left Texas on the afternoon of August 8 and drove the long road through Oklayoma and Missouri and into Illonois, where I had gotten my hotel in Bloomington, the home of 300-game winner Charles Gardner "Old Hoss" Radbourn. I survived an encounter with a cop with just a warning to make it to the hotel, then drove the additional three hours into Milwaukee.
I was tired, but running on adrenaline from the excitement of going to another game. I lucked into catching the Brewers inducting three Brewers greats into the team's Wall of Honor, including Hall of Fame closer Trevor Hoffman. He was signing autographs, but doing so with quizzing fans and signing for those that get questions correct. He asked the questions who would be starting for the Rangers. As a Rangers fan I knew the answer instantly: Kolby Allard, the 21-year-old pitching prospect that Texas acquired from the Atlanta Braves in a trade for Chris Martin at the trade deadline. Allard went to AAA Nashville and threw five scoreless innings, leading the team to bring him up for the start against the Brewers. Milwaukee, who was in the thick of the playoff hunt for both the NL Central and the Wild Card, countered with Gio Gonzalez, the 129-win veteran who was the losing pitcher in Randy Johnson's 302nd and penultimate win. Gio had just one win when that happened on June 24, 2009, but since then he had a long and successful career with the WAshington Nationals before being traded to the Brewers in 2018. He pitched in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers before becoming a free agent. He signed with the New York Yankees, but only pitched in AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before drawing his release. He signed against with the Brewers and pitched decently, if not deep into games. Nevertheless, I did get Hoffman to sign my program.
I splurged and got seats behind the Rangers on-deck circle. I had a good view of the players as they took their practice swings, but they couldn't do much against Gonzalez. Then we finally had a chance to take a look at young Allard, four days away from his 22nd birthday. Allard allowed a single up the middle to Lorenzo Cain to lead off the inning, but came around to strike out two before coming face to face with Ryan Braun, the third former MVP that my Rainbow Dash figurine had taken a picture with. With two outs Cain decided to make a run for second and beat the throw by catcher Jeff Mathis. Braun then lined a double into the left field corner, scoring Cain for the game's first run. Allard came back to finish striking out the side, but the damage was done. The Rangers continued to struggle to get anything done against Milwaukee's wily veteran southpaw. Through the first three innings the only damage was Rougned Odor's walk in the second and Delino DeShield's single in the third. Then in the fourth Gonzalez retired the first two batters to bring up Hunter Pence. Up to that point Gonzalez had done fairly well in limiting the home run ball, allowing only three in 49.1 innings. Pence made it four by blasting a high fastball deep into left field to tie the game. Odor followed with his second walk of the game, but that was all Texas would get in the fourth.
Allard got through a perfect fourth and struck out his seventh batter to lead off the fifth inning. However, Hernan Perez followed by beating out a Baltimore Chop for an infield single. The play was close enough that Rangers manager Chris Woodward asked for a review, but the call on the field was upheld. The delay seemed to affect the young pitcher, and he walked the next two batters to load the bases. Woodward had seen enough and called on Adrian Sampson, now pitching in a bullpen role. He also struggled to throw strikes, walking rookie Keston Hiura to force in Perez with the go-ahead run. He came back to strike out the next two batters to end the inning, but the damage was done. The lead would be short-lived once again. Brewers manager Craig Counsell had sent in a pinch-hitter for Gonzalez in the fifth, so he had to bring in a reliever, Freddy Peralta, for the sixth. Peralta had a dynamic debut when he struck out 13 batters on May 2018, but then struggled thereafter. He retired the first two batters, but then lost his control like Allard, walking the bases loaded. Former Rangers hurler Alex Claudio came in to try to quell the threat. Claudio had been the Rangers pitcher of the year in 2017, and got the win in the walk-off victory over the Royals on May 26, 2018. He was traded to the Brewers in the off-season for a draft pick NHL-style, and now finds himself facing Shin-Soo Choo, whose home run helped him get the win a year earlier. Choo took a strike for the first pitch, but the second pitch eluded catcher Manny Pina and bounced away. It caromed off the back wall and landed at the feet of Claudio, rushing over to cover home. He flipped the ball with his glove, but it flew over Pina's head. Odor had rushed to third on the wild pitch, and when he saw the ball get away he made a mad dash towards home. Pina recovered the ball and tossed it back to Claudio, who applied the tag and Odor was called out. Replays showed Odor had beaten the tag, but the Rangers had already used their replay challenge on the Perez single and were unable to challenge the call.
After Rafael Montero kept the Brewers scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, the Rangers launched another attack in the seventh. Matt Albers replaced Claudio with one out in the inning. Jose Trevino had gotten into the game through a double switch and grounded a ball towards third baseman Mike Moustakas, who airmailed the ball well over the head of first baseman Yasmani Grandal. Trevino made the decision to go for second, but the ball bounced off the wall in foul territory back onto the infield. Second baseman Hiura chased it down and threw out the slow-footed catcher easily. The baserunning out hurt as DeShields reached on an error, then the next two batters walked to load the bases, but Willie Calhoun struck out to end the threat. The Brewers would take advantage of the lost opportunity. Texas called on Shawn Kelley to pitch the seventh. Kelley had been a trusted bullpen arm, but he suffered a biceps injury in Houston on July 21 that turned out to be less severe than originally thought, and he missed only three weeks before making a return on August 7. Now he was called into this game and seemed to get the job done, retiring the first two batters before getting to an 0-2 count on Hiura, but Hiura doubled. Kelley then fell behind Moustakas 3-0 before sparing the next pitch on an intentional walk to face the pitcher's spot, who turned out to be pinch-hitter Eric Thames. Thames walked on four pitches and the bases were loaded. Milwaukee didn't let this chance go to waste. Grandal lined a single past the reach of second baseman Odor. Right fielder Pence threw the ball to first baseman Danny Santana, who didn't notice Grandal stumbling off the first base bag as two runs scored. Pina followed with a double to score Thames, although Grandal had to hold at third. That was it for Kelley as Brett Martin came in to end the inning.
Even though they were down by three, the Rangers weren't ready to call it quits. Jake Faria come on in relief, and he walked Odor, the second baseman's fourth walk of the game. Up next was Logan Forsythe, whose hot start in May is just a distant memory and was hitting only .252/.359/.403 going into this game. However, Forsythe grabbed hold for a full count fastball and lined it for a Huge home run, his first dinger since July 21 in Houston. That led manager Counsell to call upon his flamethrowing closer Josh Hader, who had posted a 15.8 K/9 mark in 2018 and increased it to 16.4 thus far in 2019. Hader plunked Isiah Kiner-Falefa with a 98-mph fastball right in the armpit, but then struck out the next two batters to hit 100 strikeouts for the season. Emmanuel Clase came out to pitch the bottom of the eighth. The 21-year-old Dominican was acquired from the San Diego Padres as a player-to-be-named later in a trade for backup catcher Brett Nicholas. He tore up the minors with a 0.64 ERA in low-A Spokane. He continued his dominant work in A-ball and received a call-up to AA Frisco. The jump to AA is a strict test for many prospects, but Clase performed admirably, earning him a call-up to the Majors in August. He made his debut on August 4 and pitched again three days later. He dazzled with his 100-mph cutter with a scoreless eighth. However, the Rangers were down to their last out, and had to manufacture a run against the dominant Hader. Santana couldn't get the job done, bringing up Elvis Andrus. Elvis had gotten off to a hot start with his new walk-up song "Baby Shark" earlier in the year, but struggled mightily after missing time in mid-May due to a hamstring injury. He had gone over a month since his last home run on July 6. Nevertheless, he squared up on a 95-mph fastball that crept over the plate and blasted a game-tying shot into deep center field. Hader's struggles continued as he hit Calhoun with a pitch, then walked Pence. Unfortunately, Odor and Forsythe both went down swinging to send the game to the bottom of the ninth.
Clase was still around, tasked with bringing the game into extra innings. He came out roaring in the bottom of the ninth, striking out Hiura and getting Moustakas on a groundout. That brought up Thames, who had walked and scored as a pinch-hitter in the three-run seventh inning. Thames had taken a convoluted path to Milwaukee. He was born in Santa Clara, California and raised in San Jose. He had a strong high school career, and went on to play ball in Pepperdine. The Toronto Blue Jays drafted him in 2008, and he made his Major League debut in 2011, showing some power. However, his power disappeared in 2012 and they traded him to the Seattle Mariners. He spent 2013 entirely in the minors and went from the Mariners to the Baltimore Orioles to the 51-111 Houston Astros. He went to play in the Venezuelan Winter League, where he was offered a contract with the NC Dinos in the Korean Baseball Organization. Thames dominated in Korea for three seasons before getting a contract offer from the Brewers. He made a strong first impression, hitting 11 home runs in April 2017 with a .345/.466/.810 batting line. His numbers trailed off, but he still finished 10th in the National League in home runs with 31. Injuries limited him to 96 games and 16 home runs in 2018, and he spent most of 2019 as a bench player. He still had considerable power, as he blasted 15 home runs thus far in 2019. Clase fell behind 3-1, then tried to challenge the veteran with a high 97-mph fastball. It was well over the plate, and Thames had no problem poking it over the right field wall for a walk-off piece.
I sat there stunned. Part of me was glad the game ended at just past the four-hour mark, so I can begin making the three-hour return trip to the hotel in Bloomington, but at the same time I hated how I came all this way to watch the Rangers fight back from deficits three different times, but still fell in heartbreaking fashion. After watching three walk-off victories in Texas over two seasons, it was my turn to watch the game go the other way on the road. After experiencing the thrill of victory three times, I had suffered the agony of defeat. But that's the double-edged sword of the walk-off.
Watch the walk-off here (MLB video)
Watch the walk-off here (my video)
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May 23, 2021
Texas Rangers 3, Houston Astros 2
Globe Life Field, Arlington, TX
WPA: .16
I have been to 149 Major League games as of this writing, and the match-up between two teams I have been to more than any other is the Texas Rangers against the Houston Astros. I have seen them 17 times in total, as the proximity between the two Texas teams means I can watch them play in Arlington, as I have nine times, and in Houston, as I have eight times. The two teams also play each other frequently. Back when they were in separate leagues, Major League Baseball made sure to pit them against each other as much as they can. Starting in 2001, the first year teams from the AL West played teams from the NL Central, the Rangers and the Astros played each other six times. This continued until 2013, when the Astros made the jump from the National League to the American League. All of a sudden they were playing each other 19 times, as they were both members of the AL West. Throughout the years the Rangers have gotten the best of Houston in the so-called "Silver Boot Series," as they have gone 123-99 against their intrastate rivals. However, in the games that I have attended there is a vastly different story. The Astros have a 14-2 record against Texas in the first 16 games I have attended, dating back to June 25, 2010. Back then the Rangers were a first-place team on their way to the World Series while the Astros were in a freefall that would culminate in their three straight seasons of at least 106 losses. Yet journeyman Brian Moehler outpitched Japanese import Colby Lewis as the Astros went to a 7-4 win. In recent years it was Houston that became perennial contenders while the Rangers became also-rans, but the first two times I had seen Texas win were in 2018 and 2019, when the Astros won over 100 games and carried a 12-7 and 13-6 record respectively in the season series. Between 2010 and 2016, when the Rangers had a 67-27 record over Houston, somehow they lost every single game I had been to between the two teams.
Nevertheless, the rivalry between the two teams hit new heights when news broke over the fact that the Astros had stolen signs using an algorithm on their way to the World Series title in 2017, with breaking balls being signaled through the banging of a trash can. Rangers fans were already upset that Houston had won a World Series before their team, but the fact they did it in such illegitimate means added to the fury. My friend Adam was one of these angry Rangers fans, so when I was trying to exchange tickets to games I couldn't go to, I decided to get seats for him and his wife Meagan and me for the game on Sunday, May 23. Then two of my friends from Houston in Irvin and Hernan decided they wanted to come up from Houston to watch the game in the Rangers' new ballpark, so I got tickets for them as well in the next section over from Adam and Meagan. The weekend before, the Rangers were in Houston, and I decided to watch both of the games just to make sure I can watch my 13th and 14th Rangers road games. Naturally Texas lost them both as they suffered a four-game sweep. After that the Rangers returned home to Globe Life Field, where they lost three of four to the New York Yankees, including a no-hitter at the hands of their former pitcher Corey Kluber. Meanwhile the Astros went on the road to Oakland, where they took two of three from the Athletics to reclaim first place in the AL West. They then flew in to Texas for the three-game showdown. On Friday May 21 the Rangers took a 4-1 lead into the eighth, but the Astros rallied for three runs, then took a 5-4 lead in the tenth. Houston was one out away from closing things out for a fifth straight win over Texas, but then rookie Adolis Garcia blasted a walk-off home run to stun the Astros. Houston took a 4-2 lead in the Saturday game, but Garcia homered twice as the Rangers cruised to an 8-4 win.
So Texas went into the Sunday game hoping to get a sweep of their own. The issue is that I will be there, along with my innate ability to watch the Rangers lose to the Astros. The other issue is that the Rangers would be starting Mike Foltynewicz. Folty was originally a first round draft pick by Houston in 2010. He made his debut as a reliever with the Astros in 2014, but then the team traded him to the Atlanta Braves for Evan Gattis, who would turn out to be a playoff hero. Foltynewicz went through some difficult seasons in Atlanta, but evolved into an All-Star in 2018, when he went 13-10 with a 2.85 ERA. However, an elbow injury sapped his effectiveness in 2019, and he spent most of the shortened 2020 season in the Braves alternate site before the team cut ties with him. The Rangers picked him up, and he seemed to recover much of his velocity, but he struggled mightily with his command, and went into the game with a 1-4 record and a 5.18 ERA. Meanwhile the Astros entrusted their hopes on Cristian Javier, one of their top young pitchers. Javier was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2015, shortly before his 18th birthday. He worked his way up the minor league chain methodically before injuries to Houston rotation mainstays Justin Verlander and Jose Urquidy cleared the way for him to make his Major League debut. He dazzled as a rookie, going 5-2 with a 3.48 and finishing as a finalist for the Rookie of the Year. He was the team's number 2 starter and was phenomenal in April, but struggled in May. He was hoping to turn things around after putting up a 5.40 ERA in his four previous starts.
I had two seats of friends in two different section to hang out with. Thankfully the sections were right next to each other, so I ultimately decided to spend the first inning and all the odd innings with Adam and Meagan, and then the second inning and all the even innings with Hernan and Irvin. Both Foltynewicz and Javier were sharp early on. The only baserunners in the first two innings came on walks, but Willie Calhoun was thrown out in a strike-'em-out-throw-'em-out double play in the first, while Kyle Tucker was picked off first base in the second. The first hit of the game didn't come until the top of the when Michael Brantley singled, but it was with two outs so he was quickly stranded. The Rangers got their first hit of the game in the bottom of the inning when Nate Lowe singled. He advanced to second when Joey Gallo walked, the first batter to reach scoring position, but that was as far as he got. I was hanging out with Adam and Meagan in the fifth when Adam was tasked with getting a snow cone for Meagan. We had to walk all the way to the other side of the stadium for the snow cone stall. Thankfully, around that time Javier completely lost the strike zone. He walked the bases loaded with one out. Nick Solak struck out, and that was the end of the day for Javier. With the left-handed Lowe coming up, Astros manager brought in lefty reliever Brooks Raley. It was a bit of a throwback for me. When I was visiting the Great American Ballpark during my Akron rotation in 2012, I happened to catch Raley's first Major League win as he led the Chicago Cubs over the Cincinnati Reds on August 18, 2012. Raley then became mostly a AAA filler before spending five seasons with the Lotte Giants in Korea. He resurfaced with the Reds, but was mostly terrible so Cincinnati was more than happy to trade him to Houston, where he became a valued left-handed reliever. He struggled in 2021, but captured his first two wins since 2012 in the series earlier against the Rangers. Alas, he walked Lowe to bring in the game's first run.
Foltynewicz was holding strong despite frequent foot traffic on the bases. Pretty soon the game went to the bottom of the seventh. Raley had survived back-to-back singles leading off the sixth to keep the game at 1-0, then passed the ball to Bryan Abreu, another member of the young Astros pitching staff. He too gave up back-to-back hits, but he wasn't quite as fortunate. Calhoun led off with a single, then Solak blasted a double and all of a sudden the Rangers had a 2-0 lead. He got out of the inning, but I kept waiting for the shoe to drop. It would in the eighth. Foltynewicz had thrown seven shutout innings, but he was at 107 pitches so Texas manager Chris Woodward went to the bullpen. He called upon his trusted setup man Josh Sborz. Sborz was from the University of Virginia and was in Charlottesville at the same time as my sister. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers and pitched sparingly, but was traded to the Rangers in the off-season. He struggled in his second appearance, but had performed well in May while getting his ERA down to 3.15. However, the Astros had his number as they pounded out three hits with a strikeout in between to load the bases with one out. That ended Sborz's day, and in came Brett Martin, who has become one of the Rangers' best reliever the past two seasons. However, he threw a wild pitch that advanced all the runners, including Jason Castro with the Huge run. Then Brantley hit a ground ball to the right side, more than enough to score Jose Altuve to tie the game. Martin got out of the inning with no further damage, but the game was now tied going. Ryne Stanek was more than capable in shutting down the Rangers in the bottom of the eighth, while both teams called upon their closers to bring the game to extra innings.
Major League Baseball adapted a controversial new rule for the 2020 season, shortened by the coronavirus. In an effort to curb ultra-marathon games, they had brought in a phantom runner rule that was trialed in the independent Atlantic League a year earlier. The rule states that the last batter in the previous inning would return as a runner on second base, essentially putting a runner in scoring position. It opened to rave reviews, so the rule was brought back for 2021. Castro was the phantom runner for the Astros in the tenth, while the Rangers brought in John King, another one of their most trusted relievers in 2021. He got in trouble early as Altuve hit a booming line drive to center field. Castro had to hold up to see if the ball would be caught, and had no choice but to hold at third even when the ball fell for a single. Nevertheless the Astros were in a good spot, with runners on the corner and no out. However, King calmly inducted a harmless foul popup from Carlos Correa for the first out, then struck out Houston's dangerous third baseman Alex Bregman. Then came Brantley, who had the game's first hit. He lined the first pitch to center, where the Texas center fielder was able to snag with no difficulty. It was the end of the inning. Now it was the Rangers' turn to take a stab at ending the game. Solak was the phantom runner for Texas, while the Astros kept in their closer Ryan Pressly. who had a sparkling 1.40 ERA going into the game and had disposed of the Rangers in the bottom of the ninth. He got Lowe to hit a grounder to second, but Solak was able to race to third.
That brought up Adolis Garcia, the Rangers rookie who had been tearing up the league. He already pounded the Astros in the series, with three home runs including the walk-off winner. It was somewhat of a completely unexpected development. Adolis was born and raised in Cuba, and grew up playing baseball. He ended up playing for the Cuban National Series, the professional league in Cuba. Yet like many other young players he dreamed of playing Major League Baseball, especially after his older brother Adonis defected in 2011 and made his Major League debut with the Atlanta Braves in 2015. That year Adolis played for the Cuban National team in the Pan-American Games in Toronto and helped the team win a bronze medal. In 2016 he took advantage of an opportunity to sign with the Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional League in Japan, a transaction allowed by the Cuban government. He struggled in Asia, spending most of the time with the Giants' minor league affiliate. Yomiuri eventually released him, but instead of returning to Cuba, Adolis defected to the Dominican Republic where he could be signed by a Major League team. The St. Louis Cardinals signed the youngster before the 2017 season, and he performed well in AA Springfield and AAA Memphis. Adolis spent the majority of 2018 in the minors, but did make his Major League debut. It was enough time for pitchers to figure out he struggles with breaking balls and off-speed pitches, and the Cardinals cut ties with the youngster, designating him for assignment after he spent the entirety of 2019 in the minors.
The Rangers had their eyes on Adolis since he was in the Dominican, and purchased him from St. Louis. He spent most of 2020 in the Rangers alternate site, appearing in only three games early in the shortened season. He was designated for assignment once again in the off-season when Texas signed Foltynewicz. He did decently in spring training but started out on the alternate site. An injury to Ronald Guzman opened a spot for Adolis, and he took advantage. He singled and scored a run in his season debut, then a day later he hit what could have been his first Major League home run, but ended up being a triple. He got his first Major League home run the next night, a tenth inning blast that helped the Rangers win a series over the Tampa Bay Rays. He continued to dazzle with his glove as well as his bat, robbing two-way Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani of a double in Los Angeles on April 20, then throwing out a potential game-tying run against the Seattle Mariners in the bottom of the ninth with two outs on May 8. Then came his heroics against Houston, of which his 14th home run puts him among the league leaders in the category. He was already leading the team in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, and RBIs. Yet with Solak on third and one out, all he need was make solid contact. After Adolis took a 97-mph fastball, Pressly tried to sneak another fastball inside by the Cuban. Garcia was ready, and hit it up the middle. Second baseman Altuve made a diving stop, then made a desperation throw. It wound up hitting Pressly, but by then Solak was already sliding across the plate with the winning run. Adolis Garcia had once again put a dagger through the heart of the Houston Astros. It completed my 12th walk-off, and helped improve the Rangers' record against the Astros in games I've attended to 3-14. And it inspired me to write this lengthy post instead of a post looking back at all of the times the Rangers lost to the Astros.
Watch this walk-off here (MLB video)
Watch this walk-off here (my video)
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There you go. The 12 walk-off games I've been to. I'll keep going to games and I'm sure I'll watch some more walk-offs. Perhaps I can just add to this post, as it's not like anybody is going to read it anyways. Like I said I presented these games in chronological order, but here are the games as ranked by WPA:
04/14/2012: .07
05/19/2019: .16
05/23/2021: .16
06/01/2007: .18
05/27/2017: .19
05/26/2018: .35
10/14/2017: .37
05/17/2007: .46
08/03/2019: .46
08/09/2019: .46
06/18/2006: .79
05/31/2015: .80
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