ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aroldis Chapman got his first win since being traded to Texas when pinch-runner Josh Smith scored on Pete Fairbanks’ wild pitch in the ninth inning, giving the Rangers a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.
Chapman (5-2), acquired from Kansas City in a trade late last month, twice threw the fastest pitch for the Rangers in the Statcast era (since 2015) with 102.8 mph sinkers while striking out the side in the ninth.
All-Star rookie Josh Jung led off the bottom half with a double and was replaced by Smith, who went to third with two outs on Nathaniel Lowe’s groundout. The 1-1 pitch from Fairbanks (0-3) to Mitch Garver, a 100.4 mph fastball, went past catcher Christian Bethancourt, allowing the speedy Smith to score easily.
The Rangers won the opener of a series matching AL division leaders, improving to 4-0 since the All-Star break with three of the victories coming on rallies in the sixth inning or later. One of the wins for the AL West leaders was their first in 28 tries when trailing after seven.
Tampa Bay All-Star left-hander Shane McClanahan allowed one hit through five innings and had a 2-0 lead in his return from back stiffness that kept him out of last week’s festivities in Seattle.
McClanahan had retired 14 consecutive batters and faced the minimum when Robbie Grossman opened the sixth with an infield single. Ezequiel Duran tied it with an opposite-field home run into the Texas bullpen in right-center.
McClanahan gave up three hits and two runs in six innings, leaving after 69 pitches in his first start since June 30 for the AL East-leading Rays, who have the best record in the American League.
Back stiffness had forced McClanahan out of consecutive starts without completing four innings before he went on the 15-day injured list. He threw 66 pitches in both of those outings.
Josh Lowe, the younger brother of Texas first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, also put one in the Texas bullpen, pulling a solo shot off Dane Dunning for a 2-0 Tampa Bay lead in the second.
Yandy Díaz, returning from the paternity list after the birth of his first child a day after homering in the All-Star Game, singled to start the game when his liner caromed off Dunning’s left foot. He scored on Randy Arozarena’s sacrifice fly.
UP NEXT
Rays: RHP Taj Bradley (5-5, 5.43 ERA) has allowed 16 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings over his past three starts. The 22-year-old rookie took the loss in Texas’ lone victory during a three-game series at Tampa Bay, 8-4 on June 10.
Rangers: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (10-3, 2.83) makes his first start since throwing a scoreless inning in the AL’s 3-2 loss in the All-Star Game. He is 9-1 over his past 15 starts.
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