Trevino's 1st-to-3rd dash key to Rangers' rally

August 20th, 2019

ARLINGTON -- Rangers catcher had to catch 11 innings over a four-hour, 35-minute game, and he still had enough to pull off the big baserunning play that helped win it for his team.

He scored on an infield hit by to give the Rangers an 8-7 victory over the Angels on Monday night at Globe Life Park. The Rangers snapped a four-game losing streak by winning a game they trailed 7-1 after three innings -- Texas' largest come-from-behind win of the season.

“That was a great win, especially [after] we fell behind like that in the first inning,” said , who had the game-tying single in the eighth inning. “We kept fighting and didn’t give up. We kept fighting every pitch, every at-bat and every inning.”

Angels right-hander Noe Ramirez retired the first two hitters in the 11th inning, but he walked Trevino with two outs. Shin-Soo Choo then lined a single to right and Trevino raced to third on the play, beating the throw from Kole Calhoun.

Kiner-Falefa hit a high chopper that Ramirez caught off-balance behind the mound. He threw to first, but it was both too late and off target. It was the Rangers' 14th hit of the game and brought home the clinching run.

Trevino also hit his first Major League home run in the fourth inning that started the Rangers' comeback bid. Scott Heineman’s two-run double in the fifth was also big, and Texas eventually tied it in the eighth after RBI singles by Hunter Pence and Odor.

“At the end, it was kind of fitting that the catcher who has caught 11 innings goes first-to-third with two outs on one of the best right-field arms in baseball, and makes it,” manager Chris Woodward said. “The infield single wins the game because of it. If he's only at second base, I don't think they even try to throw that ball. There's no reason. They'd just hold it, and we may still be playing. But the fact that Trevino did that speaks volumes for what we preach on a daily basis. For a guy who caught 11 innings to do that is pretty impressive.”

The Rangers also won because rookie left-hander Kolby Allard stayed strong despite allowing seven runs in the first two innings. Nine of the first 13 batters he faced reached on seven hits, one walk and a catcher’s interference. Allard found himself trailing 7-1 with one out in the second.

“Obviously, we didn’t come out of the gate like we drew it up,” Allard said. “When you have a first inning like that, you can either roll over or keep battling. I didn’t have my best stuff, but I gave my team everything I had.”

The Rangers were ready to bring in Phillips Valdez before Allard suddenly pulled himself together. He retired 10 of the next 11 batters, allowing only a walk in the fifth inning that was quickly erased by a Calhoun double-play ball.

That got Allard through the inning while the Rangers were slowly mounting a comeback. Allard and five relievers did not allow a run over the final nine innings.

“I was really impressed with Allard,” Woodward said. “Going out and getting his butt kicked in the first inning, going through a little adversity -- which I didn't want to see, but I saw it -- and you see how he responded. ... He just kept attacking. [He] made some changes after the second inning, and you could see the difference; the results were better. It's pretty amazing to see a kid like that not get rattled.”

The Angels had the bases loaded in the eighth, ninth and 10th, but did not score.

Their best opportunity was in the 10th, when they had the bases loaded with one out against Rangers reliever Rafael Montero, but Odor snatched a wicked line drive off the bat of Shohei Ohtani and doubled off Mike Trout at first to end the threat.