The Opener: Rangers, Guardians, Salas

The Marlins entered the ninth inning clinging to a one-run lead on Wednesday. With closer Pete Fairbanks on the IL and the bullpen taxed, it was starter Sandy Alcantara who emerged from the bullpen. The former Cy Young winner earned his first career save just two days after throwing 101 pitches. 1. Rangers match Astros in division race Texas moved into a tie with Houston atop the AL West last night. The Rangers got an uneven start from MacKenzie Gore, but Nathan Eovaldi swooped in to save the day. The veteran fired four scoreless innings to secure the victory over the Red Sox. It was Eovaldi’s second appearance out of the bullpen after missing a month with elbow inflammation. “I didn’t know if we were going to have him [back] this year with what he was going through,” manager Skip Schumaker told reporters (h/t Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). “But to see him coming out in front of the home crowd in a tie game and closing it out, that was a significant moment.” 2. Guardians leapfrog White Sox The AL Central also saw some movement on Wednesday. The Guardians took two of three from the White Sox to take the lead in the division. Parker Messick struck out eight in a quality start. His only blemish was a Tommy Pham three-run homer, which briefly put Chicago ahead. Cleveland quickly regained the lead on a Petey Halpin three-run blast. Cade Smith closed it out for his 37th save. The Guardians are off on Thursday, but the White Sox open a four-game series against the Tigers. Chicago can erase its half-game deficit in the division with a win today. 3. Salas homers twice Padres catcher Ethan Salas has the chance to set a lot of “youngest to do it” records. The 20-year-old backstop slugged the first homer of his career last night, taking Mason Adams deep to lead off the second inning. Salas didn’t stop there. He launched a two-run shot off Nick Frasso in the fifth inning. Salas is the youngest catcher to homer twice in a game since at least 1900 (h/t Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune). He’s also the youngest Padre with a two-homer game. Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images View Comments (0)