This time, Gallo wins it for Rangers in ninth

The fact that the hit Joey Gallo delivered to win the game Friday night was a home run probably shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

He leads the Texas Rangers in homers and is second in the American League. It’s what he does.

But he’s not yet expected to come back from down in the count, lay off tempting chase pitches outside the strike zone from a veteran closer, and then connect for a homer.

Yet, that’s what Gallo did in the ninth inning against Oakland A’s right-hander Sergio Casilla, smacking a three-run homer off the foul pole in right field on the seventh pitch of the at-bat to send the Rangers to another 5-2 walk-off victory.

Just as they did a night earlier, the Rangers scored four times in the ninth inning and won it 5-2 on a three-run home run. Mike Napoli, the star Thursday, delivered the game-tying sacrifice fly two batters before the first walk-off hit of Gallo’s career.

“The big thing is I wanted to make sure he threw me strikes and not swing and hope it was a strike and get myself out,” said Gallo, who has 12 home runs this season. “I just wanted to get the run home. I didn’t want to put one out of the stadium, just a blooper or a pop up, anything to get the run home.”

The Rangers opened the ninth with consecutive singles, and Napoli followed with a flyball to left that brought in pinch runner Pete Kozma for a 2-2 tie. Carlos Gomez was next, and his double to right-center allowed Rougned Odor to race to third.

Though first base was open, the A’s elected to pitch to the strikeout-prone Gallo, and, sure enough, Casilla jumped ahead 1-2 in the count.

Gallo, though, spit on a 94-mph fastball high and off the plate outside before fouling off a 95-mph heater on 2-2 to stay alive. Casilla went to his changeup, and Gallo didn’t offer at the pitch in the dirt.

Casilla went to his curveball on 3-2. Gallo swung through a curve on the 1-1 pitch, but he ripped this one off the foul pole. The exit velocity was 113 mph, and the estimated distance was 404 feet.

“I believe it’s one of those at-bats for a young player that’s finding his way in the big leagues to not chase at some of the chase pitches ... and continue to look for something he can drive,” manager Jeff Banister said. “It’s one of the better patient at-bats we’ve seen from Joey, and then just an incredible swing.”

The Rangers rallied to their fourth consecutive victory and again did the bulk of their scoring after an offense-starved starting pitcher exited.

In a moment of levity during spring training, Andrew Cashner mentioned how he has never played for a team with an offense that can score him runs.

Cashner was a believer then that the Rangers’ lineup would change his misfortunes when it comes to run support after toiling in San Diego much of his career. He also pitched in Chicago before the Cubs were world beaters and last season in Miami after the Marlins’ annual late-season collapse had already commenced.

Since 2010, no pitcher in the major leagues has received worse backing than Cashner.

None.

Guess what? He still hasn’t played on a team with an offense that can score him runs.

Cashner, the former All-America at TCU, allowed only one run in six innings, a Matt Joyce homer in the fifth. The A’s got four other hits off him, and the lone walk he issued was stranded at third in the fourth inning.

Cashner has received six runs of support in six starts this season, all coming in his past three outings. He has posted a quality start in all three and in four of his six starts, but the Rangers are only 2-5 this season when he pitches.

But, once again, the Rangers scored just enough before it was too late.

The Rangers pulled even in their half of the fifth, as Delino DeShields squeezed home Carlos Gomez. The Rangers had runners at first and second with no outs, but the rally fizzled when Shin-Soo Choo bounced into a double play.

Oakland managed to break the 1-1 tie within the first three batters after Cashner was replaced. Trevor Plouffe singled off Alex Claudio with one out in the seventh and scored from first as Mark Canha followed with a pinch double into the left-field corner off Jeremy Jeffress.

Keone Kela tossed two scoreless innings to set the stage for the offense. Jonathan Lucroy opened the ninth with a single, and Kozma moved to third as Odor followed with a single.

After Napoli tied it, Gomez sent a liner into right-center field to give Gallo his chance.

He made the most of it, more than might have been expected.

“We started having good at-bats and getting hits, and running the bases well. You could feel it,” Gallo said. “As I went to the plate, you could hear the dugout yelling and screaming. We had the same feeling as last night.

“It was a terrific feeling. I just looked into the dugout and everybody was screaming. A packed house ... I was very excited about it.”

This story was originally published May 12, 2017 at 10:58 PM with the headline "This time, Gallo wins it for Rangers in ninth."