Elvis left building off Pressly to help Texas Rangers win in 10, thank you very much
Shortstop Elvis Andrus came off the injured list Monday, returned to the Texas Rangers’ lineup Tuesday and promptly hit into double plays in his first two at-bats.
One of those kept the Rangers from adding to their two-run first inning.
But he wasn’t done, and neither were the Rangers.
Andrus started the ninth with his first homer of the season — Elvis leaving the building off Ryan ... Pressly (not Presley, but close enough) — to rescue the Rangers from a one-run deficit and help push them to a 6-5 victory in 10 innings.
The Rangers were down 4-3 when Andrus connected on a 3-1 pitch for his first homer since Sept. 22, 2019, at Oakland. It was only the second time in his career that he homered to either tie a game or give the Rangers a lead in the ninth inning.
“A big one, especially for him,” manager Chris Woodward said. “He was, obviously, excited to get back out there. He put a lot of work in to get back out there.”
The homer came two innings after the Rangers saw Astros left fielder Michael Brantley erase a 3-1 lead with a three-run homer off the foul pole in right field. The Rangers led 3-0 through six as Jordan Lyles turned in his best performance of the season.
“It was a huge lift for our team after the home run off the foul pole,” Woodward said. “That took the wind out of our sails a little bit. In this ballpark it happens a lot of time. For Elvis to say ‘I’ve got you’ and tie the game and hand it off to our best pitchers was really cool.”
Jonathan Hernandez worked a scoreless ninth, thanks to a diving play by third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa, to send the Rangers to extra innings for the third time this season.
It went much better than the first two times. The Rangers actually ended up winning.
Their two runs came unconventionally.
Scott Heineman was at third base with one out, and he bluffed as if he was going to steal home. That caused Astros left-handed reliever Blake Taylor, whose back was to third base, to balk.
Heineman scored.
“With a left-hander, he’s kind of blind and we thought maybe we could get him to flinch,” he said.
Later in the inning, now with two outs, slugger Joey Gallo dropped a bunt. Catcher Martin Maldonado pounded on the bunt but threw wildly past first base, and Kiner-Falefa scored all the way from first for a 6-4 lead.
Woodward wanted Gallo to swing away, but understands the thinking behind a surprise bunt against an infield shift. Nick Solak was on deck.
“I was kind of hoping to hit it 80 rows deep, but Joey is trying to create some havoc,” Woodward said. “It worked out. With Solak on deck, one of our best hitters, he’s been swinging a hot bat, so I didn’t mind it as far as that goes.”
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
