Just when it seemed like the Rangers were going to head into the All-Star break on a deflating loss, some late-inning heroics powered Texas to a dramatic win over the Houston Astros.
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Kyle Higashioka hammered a 1-1 fastball 106.7 mph over the left field wall to tie the game and get Texas back into the game. All-Star closer Jacob Latz pitched a scoreless top half of the ninth and set the table for a potential walk-off win.
A combination of a pair of singles from Wyatt Langford and Josh Jung and an error by Houston left fielder Zach Dezenzo brought Brandon Nimmo to the plate with the winning run 90 feet away. With the infield in and no outs, not much was required of Nimmo to get the winning run home and he did just enough, sending a 90 mph chopper back up the middle over Josh Hader’s head and into center field for a walk-off hit.
See Higashioka’s clutch home run and Nimmo’s walk-off hit below.