ARLINGTON — So, Rowdy Tellez, do drawn-out at-bats tend to favor the pitcher or the hitter?
“I don’t know,” Tellez said, “mine usually don’t go that long.”
One did Monday night.
Tellez finished a 10-pitch at bat vs. former teammate Devin Williams with a two-run single into center field that cracked a scoreless tie in the eighth inning and clinched the Texas Rangers’ 2-0 win vs. the New York Yankees at Globe Life Field.
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“He battled hard,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “That’s some tough pitches he fouled off. He kept grinding.”
It was tied for the second-longest at-bat of his eight-year career and it was just the ninth time that he’d seen 10 pitches. His single scored right fielder Adolis García, who led the inning off with a double, and designated hitter Joc Pederson, who walked to reach base in a fifth consecutive plate appearance.
It snapped a 0 for 13 skid that the Rangers were in with runners in scoring position. The Rangers had gotten the leadoff hitter to second base in four of the first six innings but failed to score one until Tellez stepped to the plate.
“I feel like if you both can maintain [focus],” Tellez said, “then you can last a long time going back and forth. I think, ultimately, if you guess right 50/50, I was able to guess right and put the ball in play.”
Tellez played three seasons with Williams, an All-Star right-hander, with the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2021-23 seasons. He quipped that he “only got two pitches” because eight of the balls that Williams threw were either out of the strike zone or just on the edge. Tellez hit a low changeup — a pitch that batters have hit just .178 off of this season against Williams — to finish the at-bat.
“When you play with a guy for three years and play behind him for almost every save he had those three years,” Tellez said, “you kind of figure out what he’s going to do.”
The Rangers signed Tellez to a minor league contract on July 4 after he was released by the Seattle Mariners several weeks prior. He’s slashed .300/.333/.500 in 13 games with the Rangers.
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