LOS ANGELES — The Texas Rangers Thursday night game against the Los Angeles Dodgers was nothing short of a late-night thriller.
Down 3-1 with runners on first and second base and two outs, a line drive to right center field by Dodgers outfielder Jason Heyward easily scored one, but the second base runner was gunned down by Marcus Semien at home plate. Taveras fumbled the ball in center field, hit his cut-off man in Semien and the Gold Glove-winning (2021) shortstop hit catcher Jonah Heim for the tag out at home.
The Rangers' Thursday night win clinched them the series against the NL West leader and marked the first series win at Dodgers Stadium since 1999.
After Thursday's win in Los Angeles, Bruce Bochy is now 9th all-time in managerial wins with 2,126.
“Just a terrific job how they battled and played defense,” Bochy said.
Rangers reliever David Robertson struck out MVPs Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman in succession for the second straight night — the only pitcher to do so this season — to preserve a 3-1 lead in the eighth.
“I just had to dig deep,” Robertson said. “We walked away with a series, which we haven't had in a while.”
Texas took two of three from the NL West leaders after getting routed 15-2 in the opener, when the Dodgers slugged five homers — including four in one inning. But the Rangers' pitching short-circuited LA's offense this time.
The Rangers head to Seattle next for a three-game series against the AL West-leading Mariners.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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