Rangers Walk-Off Astros 8-5 in Alternate Training Site Thriller
ROUND ROCK, Texas – Texas Rangers LF Carl Chester played the role of hero on Monday night, blasting a walk-off three-run home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Rangers an 8-5 victory over the Houston Astros in Alternate Training Site action at
ROUND ROCK, Texas – Texas Rangers LF Carl Chester played the role of hero on Monday night, blasting a walk-off three-run home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Rangers an 8-5 victory over the Houston Astros in Alternate Training Site action at Dell Diamond.
<a href="https://img.mlbstatic.com/milb-images/image/upload/milb/ddc4fbyipfismlu5qydf.pdf" target="blank" >Unofficial statistics from tonight's game can be viewed by clicking here._
Texas jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, sparked by some early fireworks. In the bottom of the second inning, 3B Diosbel Arias doubled in his first Alternate Training Site at-bat of the season. 1B Curtis Terry then followed up with a towering two-run homer to put the Rangers up 2-0. In the fourth, Terry advanced to first on an Astros fielding error before back-to-back singles by Chester and DH Charles Leblanc loaded the bases. 2B Yonny Hernandez then sent all three runners home with a double, extending the Texas lead to 5-0.
However, the Astros bats woke up in the fifth as RF Bryan De La Cruz put Houston on the board with a solo home run. The next inning, LF Jake Meyers walked prior to three consecutive RBI base hits from CF Jose Siri, 2B C.J. Hinojosa and De La Cruz that pulled the visitors to within 5-4. An inning later, 1B Lorenzo Quintana tallied a leadoff single then proceeded to steal second base, move to third on a Texas throwing error and eventually score on a Grae Kessinger sacrifice fly to deep center field.
Following a scoreless eighth inning, the Rangers rallied to victory in the bottom of the ninth. After striking out Arias, Astros RHP Ronel Blanco allowed back-to-back singles to C John Hicks and Terry. Chester then stepped to the plate and collected his first home run in a professional game since August 24, 2019, a three-run blast that declared Texas the victors by a final score of 8-5.
Rangers RHP Collin Wiles earned the win after a solid relief outing in which he allowed just two base hits and a walk while striking out three in 3.0 scoreless innings. Texas starter LHP Wes Benjamin allowed a hit and a walk with two punchouts in 2.1 innings.
Texas and Houston close out their quick two-game exhibitions series on Tuesday afternoon at Dell Diamond. Rangers RHP Sam Gaviglio is set to start against Astros RHP Austin Hansen. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
The Express kick off the 2021 season on Thursday, May 6 against the Oklahoma City Dodgers (Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate) at 7:05 p.m. at Dell Diamond. Single game tickets as well as full season and mini season membership plans are on sale now. For more information about the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Subscribe to the E-Train email newsletter and keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!