Gallo's big debut lifts Rangers past White Sox
ARLINGTON -- Rookie third baseman Joey Gallo had an incredible Major League debut with three hits, including his first Major League home run, and four RBIs to lift the Rangers to a 15-2 win over the White Sox on Tuesday night.
Gallo's home run came in the third inning with one on and one out. He crushed a first-pitch fastball off of White Sox starter Jeff Samardzija into the upper deck in the right-field porch that was projected by Statcast™ to land 445 feet away from home plate. It left the bat at 108 mph.
"It's crazy," Gallo said. "To be honest, I didn't expect it to be that good of a night. So it's pretty amazing, it still really hasn't hit me yet, but yeah, it was definitely a lot of fun, a lot of adrenaline. I'm glad it's out of the way."
Video: CWS@TEX: Gallo gets doused while discussing MLB debut
"For [Gallo] to come into his first game and do what he did, it's a nice start for somebody's career," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said.
Shin-Soo Choo also hit a home run off Samardzija, who allowed nine runs in five-plus innings. It's the fourth time in his career that Samardzija has allowed nine runs in a start. The White Sox are 4-5 on their 11-game road trip that wraps up with two more against the Rangers.
Video: CWS@TEX: Gallo belts his first career homer in debut
Rangers starter Colby Lewis earned the win by allowing two runs in six innings. The Rangers have won four straight and 10 of their last 13 games to move two games over .500 for the first time this season.
"There were a lot of good things that happened out there tonight," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "It was a very special night."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Gallo's first hit is huge: Gallo's first Major League at-bat came in the first inning with the bases loaded and two outs after consecutive singles by Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland and Elvis Andrus. Gallo smacked a hard grounder at first baseman Adam LaRoche, who couldn't handle a bad hop. The ball ended up in right field for a two-run single that gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead. Leonys Martin added a two-run single later in the inning.
"Yeah, he looked pretty good to me," said Samardzija of Gallo. "He definitely likes the ball in. We threw three in there and he hit every single one of them. He looks like a heckuva player." More >
Video: CWS@TEX: Gallo singles in two in first career at-bat
First things last: The opening inning has not been kind to Samardzija over his 11 starts with the White Sox this season. When factoring in the four runs allowed by the right-hander to the Rangers in the first on Tuesday, Samardzija has yielded 16 runs (14 earned) on 23 hits in that first stanza. The opposition has scored just 39 total runs against Samardzija.
Video: CWS@TEX: Martin knocks a two-run single in the 1st
Defense shines for Lewis: The Rangers made some nice defensive plays for Lewis. Shortstop Elvis Andrus backhanded Avisail Garcia's hard grounder deep in the hole, jumped up and made a terrific throw from the outfield grass in the fourth. Left fielder Delino DeShields made a diving catch of Carlos Sanchez's liner in the fifth.
"It was a defensive night and a huge offensive night," Lewis said. "I just went out there and did my thing." More >
Video: CWS@TEX: DeShields lays out for a terrific catch
New power source? Adam Eaton won a nine-pitch at-bat against Lewis in the third inning by virtue of his two-run homer into the upper deck in right. Eaton has three homers this season, meaning the next one represents a new single-season high.
Video: CWS@TEX: Eaton belts a two-run shot to the upper deck
QUOTABLE
"We made some good steps in Houston, we played well there, just Jekyll and Hyde. We come out and we play well for two or three games in Houston, played well, and then we come here and do that." -- Eaton, on the loss More >
INJURY REPORT
Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos left the game with a bruised right hand after getting hit by a pitch from Samardzija in the first inning. X-rays were negative and he will be evaluated on Wednesday.
Video: CWS@TEX: Chirinos takes pitch off hand, exits later
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Carlos Corporan came in to catch after Chirinos left the game and was 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and a career-high five RBIs. Corporan entered Tuesday with one home run and five RBIs in his first 21 games and 68 at-bats.
Video: CWS@TEX: Corporan belts a three-run shot in the 8th
WHAT'S NEXT
White Sox: Left-hander Chris Sale pitches against the Rangers at 7:05 p.m. CT on Wednesday in Arlington. Sale was 3-2 in five May starts with a 2.68 ERA that was the 11th lowest in the league. His 0.86 WHIP was the second lowest in the league for May.
Rangers: Right-hander Nick Martinez pitches against the White Sox. Martinez has allowed three runs or fewer in 16 straight starts, the longest such streak in club history. The Rangers are 8-2 in his 10 starts.
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