Rangers capture wild win over Yankees

Published 12:59 am Tuesday, August 5, 2025

ARLINGTON — The list of deficiencies that’ve plagued the Texas Rangers this season are by no means limited to a singular issue or two. Their inability to mount comebacks and their struggles versus left-handed pitchers, no doubt, each rank close to the top.

They bucked both trends Monday night.

Thanks to an early rally, a well above-average performance against All-Star left-handed starter Max Fried and two timely home runs from sluggers who desperately needed them, the Rangers won 8-5 vs. the New York Yankees Monday night at Globe Life Field courtesy of a walkoff three-run home run from designated hitter Josh Jung in the bottom of the 10th inning vs. right-hander Jake Bird.

The late-game heroics — driven by Jung and pinch hitter Joc Pederson, who tied the game with a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off of closer Devin Williams — clinched the victory. The team’s ability to accomplish multiple feats that they’ve largely failed to do for much of this season allowed for those moments.

“I’m sure they were a little tired today, getting in late,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said in reference to the team’s flight from Seattle that didn’t land until early Monday morning, “but they didn’t get down.”

Well, technically, they did. The Rangers trailed the Yankees 3-0 through one-and-a-half innings after Patrick Corbin allowed a home run, two doubles, three singles and two walks in the top of the first and second. It sunk the Rangers, who’ve not won a game this season in which they trailed by three or more runs, into a hole which often equals defeat.

But, in the bottom of the second, the Rangers scored four runs against Fried to take a 4-3 lead. Center fielder Wyatt Langford laced a one-out double and scored on a single from third baseman Josh Smith to first cut into the advantage.

Duran, whose .156 batting average is exclusively in the lineup because he theoretically fares well against lefties, grounded a first-pitch single off of Fried and into left field to score two runs and tie the game at 3-3. Catcher Jonah Heim — who singled in the at bats between Smith and Duran — scored on an errant pickoff attempt at second base by Fried to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead.

The three-run New York lead that the Rangers erased (and later relinquished on a two-run home run that Giancarlo Stanton hit off of right-hander Jon Gray in the fourth inning) marked the largest deficit that the club had overcome in a win this season. They had only erased a two-run deficit on two occasions and their .609 OPS when behind in games this season is the second-worst in baseball.

“We haven’t been really known for the comeback win this year,” said Pederson, an onlooker at the time of the team’s first rally of the night. “We really pulled it together.”

The four runs that the Rangers scored off of Fried were tied for the most he’d allowed in a single game all season and the second-most that Texas had scored off of any left-handed pitcher this year.

The Rangers totaled eight hits and three walks before Fried exited the game at the start of the sixth inning. It was just the second time since May 30 that the Rangers have scored four or more runs against a left-handed starter. They’re now 10-18 in games started by left-handers and have a .628 OPS against them that ranked third-to-worst in baseball.

“We made him work, man, he threw a lot of pitches in that inning,” said Jung, who had a single and a walk against Fried. “We just had really good at bats back-to-back-to-back. We made them make plays. I mean we put up, what’d we put up, four in that inning? That’s a really good pitcher.”

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