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Through seven innings of baseball, the Rangers had just one hit off Yankees starter Luis Severino. Through seven innings of baseball, it looked like one hit was all the Rangers were going to need.
Will Middlebrooks had reached on a fielder’s choice after Joey Gallo drew a walk and he scored when Brett Nicholas broke up the no-hitter with an RBI double.
Will Middlebrooks and Brett Nicholas teaming up to help the Rangers take a lead in a hotly contested game in the middle of a playoff race is not exactly what we thought we were signing up for this season but here we are.
With Severino dealing, it was on Andrew Cashner to put up zeros for the Rangers to match. As he has done for much of the second half, Cashner was up to the task.
Cashner finished the game going seven innings and allowed just four hits and one walk. Unfortunately for Cashner, the Yankees eventually put a run on his ledger after he hit Todd Frazier with a pitch to start the eighth.
Alex Claudio came in to clean up but a single and sac fly tied the game and then your standard 2017 Texas Rangers bullpen blow up in the ninth off Claudio and Ricky Rodriguez doomed Texas.
Yes, in a 1-1 tie in a critical game needing two of the biggest potential outs of the season, the Rangers were forced to turn to a guy who spent most of the year at Down East in A ball. The Yankees, on the other hand, had David Robertson and Aroldis Chapman with Dellin Betances waiting in the wings.
It’s easy to second guess now and say they left Cashner in a batter too long when they still had a lead to begin the eighth, but when you see what happened after he left the game, you can understand why the Rangers wanted to milk him for as long as they could today.
Player of the Game: Cashner was basically the only Ranger who played like they deserve to be a big leaguer today.
Up Next: The Rangers can still claim a series win against the Yankees with a victory on Sunday afternoon. A.J. Griffin will be tasked with keeping New York at bay against LHP Jordan Montgomery. First pitch in the finale from The Ballpark is scheduled for 2:05 pm CT.