How the atmosphere at Globe Life Field helped Texas Rangers win a Saturday thriller
Saturday was all about offense for the Texas Rangers, who set the club mark for hits in a game (13) at Globe Life Field and matched the mark for runs.
There were home runs, two-out hits, and adding on. Those things have been absent at times, many times, since the Rangers moved into their new home last season.
But don’t discount a few pitching moments:
Taylor Hearn allowed two inherited runners to score in the fifth but left the bases loaded by striking out Bobby Dalbec and Hunter Renfro to end the threat.
Rangers manager Chris Woodward said that was the biggest sequence of the game.
Maybe, but don’t sell Joely Rodriguez’s escape in the eighth short. The bases were loaded with the Rangers up one, and Rodriguez got Xander Bogaerts to ground to third to end the threat.
Now, about the offense ... and that crowd.
Here’s some Rangers Reaction from an 8-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
Globe Life Field advantage
The second-largest crowd of the season — 35,129 — piled into Globe Life Field. Even Dak Prescott was in the house.
It was the largest crowd of the season with the roof closed, something players and staff wanted to experience.
Granted, many of the fans were cheering on the Red Sox, but the majority were Rangers fans.
And they were loud.
“It felt like the big leagues,” shortstop Isiah-Kiner Falefa said. “It’s awesome. The momentum was on our side.”
The Rangers have allowed fans at full capacity since the home opener April 5, the only MLB team to do so. The crowd for the home opener was larger by some 3,000, but the roof was open and the Rangers didn’t do much to cheer.
That wasn’t the case Saturday.
Kiner-Falefa and Willie Calhoun thrilled the home fans with home runs. Doubles by Calhoun and Charlie Culberson in the eighth produced loud cheers. Each of closer Ian Kennedy’s three strikeouts, especially the one that ended the game, were real crowd-pleasers.
And it was a pleasant 72 degrees.
“It got really loud in there,” Calhoun said. “It’s exciting to play in front of a big crowd like that, and to be able to hear the stadium like that it’s pretty cool. It definitely gives the guys in the dugout some more adrenaline.”
How loud? Woodward said he was unable to hear foul tips at field level. Compare that to last season, when there were cardboard cutouts instead of fans and players could hear what was being said in the other dugout.
“It’s really nice when we have our own fans and we here them cheering. It’s exciting. It’s why we play,” Woodward said.
An exciting Rangers game
Woodward agreed with the following postgame observation: Saturday’s game was the most exciting Rangers game of the season.
They have had a few extra-inning contests, a big comeback win at Anaheim, and Adolis Garcia’s near inside-the-park homer game at Tampa Bay was entertaining. But Saturday’s victory was tense and filled with big moments.
The manager even had some key decisions go his way.
“You’re starting to see our guys really enjoying those moments now,” Woodward said. “They’re actually loving to be in those spots. We’ve been in so many close games, it’s almost becoming normal for those guys.”
The aforementioned key outs by Hearn and Rodriguez were big moments. The home runs were big, especially Calhoun’s go-ahead two-run shot in the sixth. Kiner-Falefa followed moments later with an RBI triple.
Culberson’s double provided some insurance for Kennedy as he worked for his sixth save of the season.
“As a team we’re battling,” Kiner-Falefa said. “Every game is a close game. We’re never out of a game. It’s pretty cool to see.”
Kiner-Falefa powers up
The homer Kiner-Falefa hit in the sixth was a low line drive at just cleared the wall in left field. It was his second homer of the homestand and the fourth of his season, matching his single-season career high.
Call me crazy, but I think he’s going to break that mark.
He is also 6 for 16 during a four-game hitting streak. He was a double shy Saturday of hitting for the cycle. But it was the first homer of the homestand that got him revved up again.
Kiner-Falefa went deep to straightaway center field on Thursday night, a shot that even surprised him.
“I didn’t even know I had that in the tank,” he said. “It gave me the confidence to do it all over the field.”
His ability to drive balls is critical for the offense.
Opposing teams challenge him because they don’t believe he is a threat to go deep. They throw him strikes because they know he’s going to put the ball in play, and most of the time that’s going to result in an out.
Should Kiner-Falefa start connecting for extra-base hits and homers somewhat regularly, they might start to be more careful with him. He might start drawing more walks. The hitters behind him would have more chances to produce runs.
The offense would be better.
Kiner-Falefa isn’t going to start looking for homers, but he’s in a better position to drive more balls.
“He continues to work,” Woodward said. “He’s going to keep grinding. He’s going to keep fighting. He’s really worked hard on his swing. He’s really proud of the work he’s done. He used to just be a singles guy. Now he’s driving balls all over the place.”
