Langford is key for 2nd night in a row as Rangers beat Yankees 10-6 to take series

AP Sports Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rookie Wyatt Langford had three hits, scored three runs and drove in two a night after his game-ending grand slam against the Yankees, and the Texas Rangers beat New York again 10-6 on Wednesday night.

Langford made a leaping catch at the top of the left-field wall on Giancarlo Stanton’s drive with two on for the final out after the Yankees had trimmed a 10-2 deficit on Trent Grisham’s ninth-inning grand slam against Grant Anderson. The catch gave Kirby Yates his 26th save in 27 chances.

Juan Soto, who had three hits, ended Nathan Eovaldi’s scoreless outing on his 38th homer, a two-run shot in the fifth inning. But Aaron Judge, the majors’ home run leader with 51, had a season-high ninth consecutive game without going deep on an 0-for-3 night.

Grisham was a late-inning replacement hitting in Soto’s spot. Duke Ellis, who went to high school in East Texas, followed Grisham’s slam with his first big league hit as one of six consecutive Yankees to reach 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 with the game seemingly out of reach. “It would have been fun to at least see the tying run go up. And then Giancarlo hits that ball. We almost had it.”

It was the sixth loss in eight games for the Yankees (80-60), who remained a half-game behind Baltimore (81-60) for the best record in the American League and the AL East lead.

New York is 40-41 in its past 81 games and headed into an off day before a three-game series at 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 catch our breath a little bit and rest up a little bit on an off day. But we’ve got to get after it at Wrigley. I expect us to.”

Langford, Nathaniel Lowe and Ezequiel Duran each had a run-scoring hit while Adolis García and Josh Smith added RBI groundouts for a 5-0 lead against Marcus Stroman. Duran’s hit was the first of his two RBI doubles, and García added a two-run double.

Langford’s ninth-inning shot off Clay Holmes in a 7-4 Texas victory Tuesday night prompted Boone to announce a closer-by-committee approach after Holmes’ big league-high 11th blown save.

“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 had no need for a closer while losing a third consecutive series for the first time in almost two months.

Smith doubled, walked and stole a base as the leadoff hitter playing shortstop, a role that would appear to be frequent over the final 3 1/2 weeks.

With the defending World Series champs essentially out of contention, All-Star Corey Seager was placed on the injured list before the game with hip discomfort that could end the reigning World Series MVP’s third season in Texas.

The listless Yankees let the speedy Langford turn a single into a double on his RBI hit in the fourth when second baseman Gleyber Torres nonchalantly cut off Soto’s throw from right as Langford sprinted toward the bag behind him. Langford scored when Lowe followed with a single.

Eovaldi (11-7) had a 2-0 lead when the Texas right-hander pitched around Judge to load the bases in the third, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. lifted the next pitch into shallow right field to end the inning.

After Soto’s two-out homer made it 5-2, Eovaldi struck out Judge on three pitches, the third a called strike on a 97 mph fastball inside. He allowed four hits and two runs while striking out six in seven innings.

Stroman (10-7), who was 3-0 in his previous four starts, allowed nine hits and five runs in 3 2/3 innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: C Austin Wells was out of the lineup again two days after getting hit by a pitch near his right wrist. Manager Aaron Boone said Wells would be available off the bench and probably back in the lineup Friday at the Chicago Cubs. … RHP Ian Hamilton threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings in a 26-pitch outing for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and RHP Lou Trivino pitched two-third of an inning, allowing a single and walk to his first two batters.

Rangers: All-Star SS Corey Seager was placed on the 10-day injured list with right hip discomfort, a move that could end the third season in Texas for the reigning World Series MVP.

UP NEXT

Yankees: RHP Luis Gil (12-6, 3.39 ERA) is set for the opener against the Cubs on Friday night after being sidelined since Aug. 21 with a lower back strain.

Rangers: LHP Cody Bradford (4-2, 3.21) is slated for the opener of a four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night.

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