KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Elias Díaz hit a go-ahead double in the 10th inning as the Texas Rangers defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-4 on Wednesday night.
Jake Burger came off the bench and tied the score twice for the Rangers in the late innings, with a home run in the seventh and a sacrifice fly in the eighth. He entered as a pinch hitter in the fifth and finished 2 for 2 with a walk and a run.
Díaz’s one-out double off Alex Lange (0-3) in the 10th scored automatic runner Ezequiel Duran from second base to give Texas a 5-4 lead. With two outs, Josh Jung drew a bases-loaded walk that forced in another run — one of nine free passes issued by Kansas City pitchers.
Jakob Junis (1-1) struck out three in two hitless innings for the win. Jacob Latz escaped a big jam in the bottom of the 10th for his 10th save.
With the bases loaded and nobody out, Latz threw a called third strike past Isaac Collins before getting Tyler Tolbert to ground into a game-ending double play.
Royals starter Seth Lugo left in the fourth after getting hit in the head by a 106.6 mph line drive off the bat of Brandon Nimmo, a teammate for seven years with the New York Mets.
Lugo was able to stand back up without assistance, and he spoke to teammates and the Royals’ athletic training staff as he walked off the field.
In a post on social media, the team said: “Seth Lugo is doing well after exiting tonight’s game and will undergo the appropriate protocol and testing.”
Burger hit his 11th homer in the seventh to tie the score at 3. Nick Loftin tripled home a run in the bottom half before Burger evened it again with a sac fly in the eighth.
Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore went five innings. He allowed two runs and eight hits with six strikeouts.
Collins, Jac Caglianone and Lane Thomas each had an RBI single for the Royals.
Texas designated hitter Joc Pederson was lifted for Burger in the fifth because of left hip discomfort.
Up next
Rangers RHP Kumar Rocker (2-5, 3.54 ERA) faces RHP Michael Wacha (4-4, 3.44) in the series finale Thursday.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
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