The Texas Rangers and the Frisco RoughRiders returned to the diamond on Wednesday, while the Dallas Wings began the second half of their season.
Here is what happened on the field, on the court, and behind the scenes.
MLB
Texas Rangers (58-39, first in American League West)
Last Game: Rangers 5, Tampa Bay Rays 1
Leody Taveras hit a solo shot over the right field wall to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the third and added an RBI single in the second.
Jonah Heim broke the game open with a three-run blast in the eighth to make it a 5-0 game as the Rangers’ bullpen held Tampa to just two hits after starter Jon Gray departed in the fifth. Jose Hiri helped Tampa avoid a shutout with a solo homer in the ninth.
Noteworthy: Texas maintains a 4.5-game lead over Houston in the AL West.
— Reliever Alex Speas became the fourth Ranger to make his MLB debut this season, tossing an inning and two-thirds and striking out three. Speas had retired last season but returned to baseball and put up stellar numbers in Double-A and Triple-A.
— Outfielder Travis Jankowski extended his hitting streak to nine games with a double in the fourth inning, tying a career-best.
— Heim leads all MLB catchers in RBIs and hits.
— The Rangers have signed 13 of their 18 draft choices as well as six undrafted free agents.
Next Up: Los Angeles Dodgers (55-40) at Texas Rangers, 7:05 p.m. CT Friday.
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MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Frisco RoughRiders (39-46, fifth in Texas League South Division, eighth in AA Texas League)
Last Game: San Antonio Missions 13, RoughRiders 3
San Antonio had two big innings, scoring five in the second and seven more in the eighth as it blew out Frisco.
Cole Cummings, Korry Howell, and Juan Fernandez all homered, while Jackson Merrill and Michael De La Cruz also drove in runs.
Aaron Zavala and Thomas Saggese had RBIs for Frisco, and Liam Hicks scored on a wild pitch.
Noteworthy: Outfielder Trevor Hauver was the only RoughRider with more than one hit in the game. He entered the game hitting .299 over his last 22 games and has raised his batting average from .222 to .243.
— Reliever Alex Speas became the 194th RoughRider to make his MLB debut in the Texas Rangers’ win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
— Frisco is now 1-3 in games decided by 10 runs or more this season and 0-14 when allowing at least 10 runs to opponents.
Next Up: San Antonio Missions (44-42) at RoughRiders, 7:05 p.m. CT Thursday.
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WNBA
Dallas Wings (12-9, second in Western Conference)
Last Game: Wings 98, New York Liberty 88
The Wings knocked off the top team in the Eastern Conference on the road.
Dallas trailed 51-49 at halftime but seized control of the game by outscoring New York by 13 in the third quarter and led by as many as 16 during the game’s late stages. All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale led four Dallas players in double-figures with 25 points.
Noteworthy: Dallas has won six of its last seven games. It is the only team to have beaten both the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces this season.
— Ogunbowale has scored at least 20 points 12 times this season.
— The Wings became the first team in WNBA history to have four players with at least four assists and zero turnovers in a game. The team committed only two total turnovers on Wednesday, tying the league record.
Next Up: Los Angeles Sparks (7-13) at Wings, 7 p.m. CT Saturday.
