The New York Yankees will look to bounce back from a crushing loss that dropped them out of the top spot in the American League East when they play the rubber match of their three-game series against the host Texas Rangers on Wednesday night in Arlington, Texas.
The Yankees (80-59) held a 4-1 lead after their half of the eighth inning on Tuesday. The Rangers, however, pulled within one run in the bottom half, and rookie Wyatt Langford hit a one-out, walk-off grand slam in the ninth to give Texas a 7-4 win.
All-Star closer Clay Holmes was tagged with his major-league-leading 11th blown save.
“Obviously a tough night, and we’ve got to get over it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
The loss, combined with the Baltimore Orioles’ win against the Chicago White Sox, dropped New York to second place by a half-game in the division.
Despite the loss, the Yankees continue to enjoy strong production from trade acquisition Jazz Chisholm Jr., who recorded his fourth straight multi-hit performance and is batting .340 with a 1.038 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in 25 games with the Yankees.
“He’s been unreal in every aspect of the game,” designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton said. “He can turn a single into a triple, and it just causes havoc for the pitcher, which influences the pitches he’s throwing and everything, and giving us homers and just bringing the energy. He’s been huge for us.”
New York will turn to right-hander Marcus Stroman (10-6, 3.81 ERA) for the finale. He is 3-3 with a 5.34 ERA in six career starts against Texas.
With the postseason not in the cards, the Rangers (66-73) are using the final month of the season to get a better look at some of their youngsters. But with next season on the front office’s mind, the team already knows what it has in Langford.
Tuesday’s home run was his third walk-off hit of the season. The 22-year-old also has an inside-the-park home run and has hit for the cycle.
“I saw a guy up there who was very poised,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s been in that situation, and he’s come through. He had some good swings. It’s part of his growth. He just has the knack to get the big hit when we need it. It doesn’t show up on spreadsheets, but there are guys who become better hitters with the game on the line. I think he likes those at-bats.”
Langford has started September with a bang, slashing .333/.429/.917 over three games. He started to turn the corner on offense in mid-August, connecting for 13 of his 17 hits last month from Aug. 14-28.
“It’s super important for me to go into the offseason with a good base of what I want to be able to do next year,” Langford said.
Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (10-7, 3.60 ERA) will go for his fourth straight quality start Wednesday after matching a season high with 10 strikeouts in his most recent outing, a 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
Eovaldi is 4-5 with a 3.61 ERA in 21 career appearances (18 starts) against the Yankees.
–Field Level Media