Down to Their Last Strike, Rangers Score 3 With 2 Outs and Stun Diamondbacks in Ninth

Walk-off baseball at its most brutal. The Texas Rangers were one out away from defeat on Wednesday night in Arlington when Danny Jansen lined a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive in Alejandro Osuna with the winning run. Final score: Rangers 6, Diamondbacks 5.

This wasn't just any ninth inning. The Rangers scored three runs with two outs to complete the comeback. They were down to their final strike, down in the count, and somehow found a way out. Ezequiel Duran doubled home Josh Jung to make it 5-4 against Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald. Then Osuna walked. Jake Burger's single to left tied it at 5-5. Sewald, who blew his first save of the season in 10 chances, got yanked. Reliever Juan Morillo came in and gave up Jansen's game-winner.

Burger's Bat Carried the Load

Jake Burger went 2-for-4 with four runs batted in. He'd started the Rangers' scoring in the fifth inning with a three-run home run just inside the right field foul pole off Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson. That was Burger's seventh homer of the season and the only run Texas could muster through the first five innings of a scoreless tie.

Josh Jung and Evan Carter each went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Jung's at-bat in the ninth was crucial. Osuna scored twice on the night. Cal Quantrill pitched a scoreless top of the ninth for the Rangers to set up the heroics.

Arizona's Ninth Inning Collapse

The Diamondbacks looked like they had it won. Ildemaro Vargas hit a two-run single in the top of the ninth to give Arizona a 5-3 lead. Before that, Nolan Arenado doubled in the tying run in the same inning to knot the game at 3-all. The first four hitters of the inning reached base. Arizona had cut a three-run deficit to nothing.

But that lead didn't last. Vargas was hitless until that ninth inning single. Arenado went 2-for-4, scored twice, and drove in two runs. The Diamondbacks stranded 13 runners on the night. They went into the ninth inning just 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Texas takes two of three in the series and improves to 4-1 in its last five games. Arizona heads home having let one slip away in the most painful way possible.

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