Starting Lineups:

Texas Rangers (32-34):

1) Joc Pederson (L) DH

2) Corey Seager (L) SS

3) Josh Jung (R) 3B

4) Brandon Nimmo (L) RF

5) Wyatt Langford (R) LF

6) Ezequiel Durán (R) 1B

7) Evan Carter (L) CF

8) Kyle Higashioka (R) C

9) Nicky Lopez (L) 2B

Starting Pitcher: LHP Mackenzie Gore (4-5, 4.23 ERA)

Kansas City Royals (28-39):

1) Lane Thomas (R) CF

2) Bobby Witt Jr. (R) SS

3) Maikel Garcia (R) 3B

4) Salvador Perez (R) C

5) Vinnie Pasquantino (L) 1B

6) Starling Marte (R) DH

7) Jac Caglianone (L) RF

8) Nick Loftin (R) 2B

9) Isaac Collins (S) LF

Starting Pitcher: RHP Seth Lugo (2-4, 3.91 ERA)

Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO — In game 2 of the series, the Texas Rangers took down the Kansas City Royals 6-4 in extra innings thanks to a clutch hit from Elias Diaz and a walk earned by Josh Jung.

The Royals would open the scoring in the bottom of the second inning.

Jac Caglianone hit a one-out double to left field, and two batters later, Isaac Collins dropped in an RBI-bloop single to open the scoring, 1-0 Royals.

The Rangers would score in the top of the fourth inning, taking the lead.

Brandon Nimmo hit a hard comebacker off the pitcher to reach first base with one out in the top of the fourth inning. Wyatt Langford followed suit with a single to left field to put two on, with one away. Ezequiel Duran was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Evan Carter would work a walk to bring in a run to tie the game at one apiece.

Two batters later, Nicky Lopez would plate the go-ahead run with an RBI single to right field to put the Rangers up 2-1. Duran would be thrown out at the plate trying to score.

The Royals would tie the game in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Vinnie Pasquantino worked a two-out walk in the bottom of the fifth inning. Starling Marte would single to right field to put two on, with two away. Jac Caglionone would plate Pasquantino with an RBI single through the right side to tie the game at 2 apiece.

The Royals would take the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Collins would hit a double to left field, and one batter later, Lane Thomas would bring him home with an RBI single to center field to put the Royals ahead 3-2.

The Rangers would tie the game in the top of the seventh inning thanks to the long ball.

Jake Burger found a pitch he liked and parked it in the left field seats to tie the game at 3 apiece.

The Royals would take the lead in the bottom of the seventh.

Caglianone would reach base on a single to center field with two gone in the bottom of the seventh inning. Nick Loftin would bring Caglianone home with an RBI triple to put the Royals ahead 4-3.

The Rangers would tie the game in the top of the eighth inning.

Evan Carter earned a free pass with one out in the top of the eighth inning. Kyle Higashioka would also work a walk to put two on, with one away. Lopez would be hit by a pitch to load the bases. One batter later, Burger would hit an RBI sac-fly to tie the game at 4 apiece.

The Rangers would score in the top of the 10th inning.

After Duran started on second base, Diaz would hit an RBI double to centerfield to score Duran, to put the Rangers ahead 5-4. After loading the bases, Jung would work a walk to score another run to put the Rangers up 6-4.

Caglianone would lead off with a single in the bottom of the 10th inning. One batter later, Nick Loftin would walk to load the bases.

Wyatt Langford – photo courtesy of KRQE

The Good: Kansas City’s bottom third of the order absolutely raked — tallying seven hits and driving in 3 runs. That bottom third included Caglianone, Loftin, and Collins. Despite production from the bottom third of the lineup, they lost the game.

The Bad/The Ugly: The Rangers stranded 14, while the Royals stranded 13 base runners — overall, neither team could capitalize on offense until the end for Texas, and it was an ugly display from both teams.

-Matt Koper

Founder of Koper’s Korner