Evan Carter's Inside-the-Park Shot and deGrom's Dominant Arm Bury Pirates in Arlington

The Texas Rangers just reminded everyone why you can't take your eyes off the field for a second. Evan Carter uncorked an inside-the-park home run in the third inning and Jacob deGrom was absolutely locked in on the mound as Texas walloped Pittsburgh 6-1 on Thursday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

This wasn't some routine homer, either. With Josh Jung on first and two outs in the third, Carter ripped a deep fly to right field that caromed hard off the wall in front of the Rangers' bullpen and bounced back into the outfield. By the time Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz tracked it down, Jung had already crossed the plate and Carter slid in safely for his first career inside-the-park shot. The wild part? Pirates starter Bubba Chandler had literally just used the ABS challenge system to overturn a called ball four and extend the at-bat one pitch earlier. Sometimes baseball is just like that.

deGrom Does What He Does Best

If Carter's speed made it a game, deGrom's arm made it a laugher. The Rangers' ace struck out 10 batters in 5 2/3 innings while giving up just one run and improving to 2-0 on the season. His stuff was there from pitch one. The only blemish came in the fifth when Cruz went deep with two outs to snap the shutout, his second homer of the series after going deep in Pittsburgh's 8-4 win on Wednesday.

The Rangers Keep Piling It On

One inning after Carter's inside-the-parker, the Rangers blew the game completely open. Josh Smith and Alejandro Osuna walked back-to-back to start the fourth. Joc Pederson's one-out single brought Smith home, then Corey Seager launched a three-run bomb off Chandler to double Texas' lead in one swing. That sixth homer of the season from Seager essentially ended it right there.

Chandler couldn't survive the inning, exiting after giving up six runs on seven hits and three walks. The Rangers' bullpen was perfect, with Gavin Collyer, Jalen Beeks, Jakob Junis, and Peyton Gray (making his Major League debut) combining for 4 1/3 shutout innings to close it out. Josh Jung added some defensive magic in the sixth too, laying out at third to turn a groundout that robbed Konnor Griffin of extra bases.

Texas takes the rubber match and heads into the weekend looking sharp.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.