Thoughts on a 4-1 Rangers win

Rangers 4, Twins 1

• With the tailspin the Rangers have been, knowing they will be off the next three days, to have this game, having dragged on as long as it did, and then going into extra innings, end up as a Rangers victory is...a relief. Texas needed that win.
• It was a weird game...Joe Palumbo was supposedly going to start, with Jose Leclerc being the opener, but it ended up being a bullpen game. After a scoreless first, Leclerc came out for a second inning, but left for Ariel Jurado after allowing a two out RBI triple to Byron Buxton.
• Jurado got the final out of the second, and then threw a scoreless third and fourth inning, leading us to wonder where Palumbo was.
• The fourth inning was almost not scoreless because of Joey Gallo, then was scoreless because of Joey Gallo. After Miguel Sano walked, Jonathan Schoop laced a single into center. Gallo charged and tried to short hop it but missed, with the result being that, instead of runners on first and second, there were runners on second and third.
• A Byron Buxton ball to third base resulted in Sano being thrown out at home and Schoop going to third. Buxton then stole second base, setting the stage for Max Kepler to hit what looked like a sac fly to center.
• After Joey Gallo airmailed that throw home yesterday, I braced myself for another bad decision — he had no chance at getting Schoop at home — but Gallo instead threw to third. And what a throw...95.7 mph from a standstill, a laser that was perfectly placed, with Asdrubal Cabrera able to simultaneously catch the throw and tag out Buxton at third. And Buxton was tagged before Schoop got home, so the run didn’t score. This play ended up being the difference in the game.
• Palumbo made his appearance in the fifth, and threw 3 shutout innings, striking out 2 and allowing 1 hit and 0 walks. I’m not sure why he didn’t appear until then, but whatever the reason, it worked.
• Chris Martin and Shawn Kelley were each asked to pitch two innings, despite normally being one inning guys. Martin had two clean innings with 3 Ks. Kelley allowed a one out single and then a line drive Ronald Guzman couldn’t field cleanly in the 10th, giving the Twins a chance, before retiring the next two batters, and then with a 3 run lead in the 11th allowed a single but no runs to lock down the win.
• Prior to the 11th, the only Ranger run came on a 4th inning leadoff double by Joey Gallo, who scored on a 2 out Danny Santana single. Texas had 10 hits on the day. 4 were by Santana. 2 were by Gallo, who also had a walk, and one of his hits was a bunt against the shift. 2 were by Shin-Soo Choo, who also had 2 walks. 1 was by Willie Calhoun.
• And then there was Rougned Odor. With one out in the 11th, Joey Gallo and Asdrubal Cabrera drew walks. Odor, who was 0 for 4 with 3Ks, got a pitch up and out over the plate and smoked it the other way. 407 feet and 107.9 mph EV later, it was a 4-1 lead, and Rougie was a hero.
• As I said, that was a needed win. Losing this game in extras, with three off days and a bad week of play in the rear view mirror, would have felt gross. Instead, we get to head into the ASB happy.