Thoughts on a 6-3 Rangers win

Rangers 6, Twins 3

• Round about the 8th inning I was thinking this was the most uneventful Ranger game of the year. About all I could recall of it was that Kyle Gibson had given up a couple of home runs and Joey Gallo hit a ball in the first inning that I thought would leave the park but that was caught at the wall by Byron Buxton.
• That changed in the final two innings.
• First, though, Kyle Gibson. I was looking at his numbers earlier today and marveling at his FIP and then realized that he had not given up a home run all season. Huh, I thought, that’s weird, but I guess that won’t continue.
• And it didn’t. A walk and a Buxton home run in the first put Minnesota up 2-0 early. Jorge Polanco walked later in the first, and thus there was fretting that Gibson didn’t have it today.
• Gibson allowed just two more base runners the rest of the way — a Mitch Garver single and a Williams Astudillo solo home run. I guess he got back in his groove.
• Gibson went 8 and got 8 Ks, but he looked like he was going to be a hard luck loser until the weird and wacky 9th. Willie Calhoun led off the inning with a home run, and then Charlie Culberson reached on an E-5. Andy Ibanez, called up about an hour before the game, pinch hit for David Dahl — something kind of unexpected — and singled for his first major league hit. Jose Trevino, hitting for Jonah Heim, sac bunted, putting runners at second and third with one out. Isiah Kiner-Falefa then hit a pop up to shallow left, too close to the infield for an outfielder to catch. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons was able to make a nice running catch with his back to the infield, but he couldn’t get off a good enough throw to keep the tying run from scoring.
• Joely Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth, leading to ghost runner action in the 10th. Nate Lowe flew out for the first out, which just made it all the more dramatic when Adolis Garcia went deep to make it 5-3. Joey Gallo doubled and then scored on a double from the Culb for an insurance run, Ian Kennedy shut down Minnesota in the 9th, and Texas had a comeback win.
• It was crazy. Bonkers. Nuts.
• The Rangers had 15 balls in play of over 100 mph today. I’m not listing them all, but Adolis Garcia’s home run was 109.5 mph.
• This game, and my past couple of days in general, have worn me out. Good night.