Despite not getting a runner on base until the sixth inning, the Los Angeles Angels found a way to beat the Texas Rangers 3-2 in 10 innings on Saturday.
In the bottom of the 10th inning, Angels’ second baseman Howie Kendrick was the hero of the game, smacking an RBI double to left center on a 3-2 pitch.
“These are huge wins,” Kendrick said after the game on MLB.com. “Last year we lost a lot of these games; this year, we got a lot of guys swing the bats well. We got a team that’s fighting, you know, we got a lot of guys that come up and they want to be that guy that wins the game. That’s important for us as a team. It’s a different guy every night, and that’s what makes it so exciting. We never give up and we just keep fighting.”
Texas starter Nick Martinez had a perfect through five innings until Los Angeles’ catcher Hank Conger led off the bottom of the sixth with a double to left field. He advanced to third on a ground out by third baseman David Freese and came in to score when first baseman Efren Navarro grounded out to first.
Two innings later, designated hitter C.J. Cron belted a 358-foot home run to left to give the Angels a 2-1 lead. Rangers’ left fielder Sin Soo Choo knotted the game up with a solo home run to lead off the top of the ninth. Following his blast, both teams went down in order to send the game to extras.
After Texas left one runner stranded in the top of tenth, Los Angeles wasted little time ending the game. Left fielder Josh Hamilton reached first base on an infield hit to lead off the inning. Kendrick followed with the double that brought Hamilton home and secured the win, reports ESPN.
The Angels will look to complete the three-game sweep on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.