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Rangers Walk Off on Wild Pitch

Rangers
A two-run homer from Ezequiel Duran in the sixth and a wild pitch in the ninth were enough for the Texas Rangers to beat the Tampa Bay Rays. | Image by Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports

The Texas Rangers continued their season on Monday night while the other local teams were idle.

Here is what happened on the field and behind the scenes.

MLB

Texas Rangers (56-39, first in American League West)

Last Game: Rangers 3, Tampa Bay Rays 2

The Rangers won their fourth straight game as Josh Smith scored the winning run on a Pete Fairbanks wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth.

Tampa took an early 2-0 lead on a sacrifice fly from Randy Arozarena and a home run from Josh Lowe, but Ezequiel Duran turned things around with a game-tying two-run blast in the sixth — his 13th of the season.

Both teams struggled to get players on base from there, but a Josh Jung double to lead off the ninth set up the win as Smith entered the game as a pinch runner and came around to score after a ground out moved him to third base.

Noteworthy: The Rangers increased their lead in the AL West to 3.5 games over the Houston Astros. This is the first time the team has registered a 56-39 record through 95 games. It’s one win shy of its best start since 2012.

—  Starting pitcher Dane Dunning threw seven innings, allowing two runs and striking out four. It was the third time in his last five starts that he had reached the seventh inning and the fourth time he had allowed two or fewer runs in that span.

— Aroldis Chapman earned his first win since being acquired by Texas from the Kansas City Royals by striking out the side in the top of the ninth.

Next Up: Tampa Bay Rays (60-37) at Rangers, 7:05 p.m. CT Tuesday.

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WNBA

Dallas Wings (11-9, second in Western Conference)

Noteworthy: The Wings have been off for the All-Star Game, which Team Stewart won on Saturday. Dallas was represented by forward Satou Sabally and guard Arike Ogunbowale. Sabally scored 19 for Team Stewart, while Ogunbowale had 18 for Team Wilson.

— Forward Natasha Howard was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for July 5-12.

Next Up: Wings at New York Liberty (14-4), noon CT Wednesday.

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