Rookie Wyatt Langford had three hits, scored three runs, and drove in two runs after hitting a game-ending grand slam against the Yankees the night before. The Texas Rangers defeated New York again 10-6 on Wednesday night.
Langford made a jumping catch at the top of the left-field wall on Giancarlo Stanton’s drive with two runners on base to end the game. This catch helped Kirby Yates earn his 26th save in 27 chances.
The Yankees had closed a 10-2 gap with Trent Grisham’s grand slam in the ninth inning against Grant Anderson.
Juan Soto, who had three hits, ended Nathan Eovaldi’s scoreless game with his 38th home run, a two-run shot in the fifth inning. However, Aaron Judge, who leads the majors with 51 home runs, had his ninth consecutive game without a homer, going 0-for-3.
Grisham was a late-inning replacement batting in Soto’s spot. Duke Ellis, from East Texas, followed Grisham’s grand slam with his first big league hit as part of six consecutive Yankees reaching base with two outs.
“It was definitely getting interesting,” said New York manager Aaron Boone, who had replaced Soto, Judge, and Alex Verdugo in the eighth inning when the game seemed out of reach.
“It would have been fun to at least see the tying run come up. And then Giancarlo hits that ball. We almost had it.”
The Yankees lost six of their last eight games and are now a half-game behind Baltimore for the best record in the American League and the AL East lead.
New York is 40-41 in their past 81 games and will have a day off before starting a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs.
“We know we’ve got to be better than this if we want to get to where we want to go,” Boone said. “Hopefully, we’ll catch our breath and rest on the off day. But we need to be ready for Wrigley. I expect us to.”
Langford, Nathaniel Lowe, and Ezequiel Duran each had a hit that drove in a run, while Adolis García and Josh Smith added RBI groundouts to give a 5-0 lead against Marcus Stroman. Duran’s hit was one of his two doubles that drove in runs, and García also hit a two-run double.
Langford’s home run in the ninth inning off Clay Holmes contributed to a 7-4 Texas win on Tuesday night, leading Boone to announce a closer-by-committee strategy after Holmes’ 11th blown save, the highest in the majors.
“You look at last night and tonight, he continues swinging well, got some big hits for us, and that catch,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s playing some terrific ball. He’s in a good place right now.”
New York didn’t need a closer while losing their third consecutive series, a streak they haven’t had in almost two months.
Smith, playing shortstop as the leadoff hitter, doubled, walked, and stole a base, a role he will likely have often over the remaining 3 1/2 weeks.
With the defending World Series champions nearly out of the race, All-Star Corey Seager was placed on the injured list before the game due to hip discomfort, which might end his third season with Texas.
The Yankees let Langford turn a single into a double on his RBI hit in the fourth when second baseman Gleyber Torres casually cut off Soto’s throw from right field as Langford raced toward the base. Langford scored when Lowe followed with a single.
Eovaldi (11-7) had a 2-0 lead when he managed to work around Judge to load the bases in the third inning. Jazz Chisholm Jr. then hit a shallow fly ball to end the inning.
After Soto’s two-out home run made it 5-2, Eovaldi struck out Judge with three pitches, the last one a called strike on a 97 mph fastball inside. Eovaldi allowed four hits and two runs while striking out six in seven innings.
