Hamilton Leads Rangers Past Yankees
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ARLINGTON, Texas — The matchup didn’t favor the Texas Rangers’ Josh Hamilton when the left-handed swinging slugger stepped into the box with two outs in the bottom of the ninth Thursday night.
Hamilton often bails out and lacks patience against southpaws, and he was facing one of the best in the game in New York Yankees closer Andrew Miller.
“When you have a closer like him, lefty that throws hard, has a good slider, you want to see (pitches),” Hamilton said. “I had at-bats throughout the night where I was really calm and I had a couple where I wasn’t. That’s the process we’re going through, understanding there are guys on base and the pressure is on him, it’s not on me.”
Hamilton worked the count to 2-0 before lining a single to right to give the Rangers to a 7-6 victory over New York at Globe Life Park.
The Rangers (49-52) split the four-game series against the American League East leaders and have their first home winning streak since June 15-16.
Hamilton’s second walk-off hit of the season and ninth of his career followed a three-run homer in the first inning. He had six RBIs in the Texas’ two wins in the series.
“Playing the Yankees is always fun,” Hamilton said. “The battle back and forth between teams, between fans in the stadium, always feels good to get that win.”
The Yankees (57-44) won the first two games of the series by a combined score of 27-7. New York is 4-3 on its
10-game road trip that wraps up with three games in Chicago against the White Sox starting Friday.
The Yankees led on three different occasions and couldn’t take advantage of first baseman Mark Teixeira’s two home runs, including a two-out solo blast to center in the seventh for a 6-5 lead.
The Rangers tied it in the bottom of the inning when first baseman Prince Fielder’s infield grounder scored catcher Robinson Chirinos.
Texas closer Shawn Tolleson (3-2) pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up the win.
Despite the two wins, the Rangers still own the worst home record in baseball at 18-28. Texas opens a three-game interleague series with San Francisco on Friday.
“We always want to play good at home,” Hamilton said. “For some reason we haven’t had the fire, but we’re getting it back. It’s in the clubhouse, it’s coming out of the dugout and soon it’s going to start coming out on the field every night.”
New York reliever Nick Goody (0-1) got the loss after walking the leadoff batter in the bottom of the ninth. Miller last pitched Saturday, but said inactivity wasn’t an issue.
“Honestly, I felt really good,” he said. “I just didn’t fool anybody tonight.”
The Yankees got to Texas starter Yovani Gallardo early by scoring three runs in the first, the second coming on Teixeira’s solo shot to center.
The Rangers used a pair of long balls to right field against off New York starter CC Sabathia to go up 4-3. Hamilton hit a three-run bomb in the first, and right fielder Shin-Soo Choo opened the following inning with a towering drive into the upper deck.
The Yankees leapfrogged ahead 5-4 on catcher Brian McCann’s two-run home run to right in the third.
Another round-tripper, this of the inside-the-park variety, tied the game 5-5 in the fourth.
Texas left fielder Ryan Rua drilled a sinking line drive that got under the glove of hard-charging and diving center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury. The ball rolled to the wall, and Rua beat the relay home with a head-first slide.
Gallardo, the subject of trade rumors, wound up allowing five runs in six innings in what may be his last start for Texas this season. He felt good after the rocky start.
“After that I was able to settle down and give the team a chance to get a victory,” Gallardo said.
Sabathia gave up five runs in five-plus innings and was treated for symptoms of dehydration after the game.
