Carlos Santana hit a leadoff home run in the first and an RBI single in the second, helping the Indians jump out to a three-run lead, and they held on for a 4-3 victory over the Rangers at Globe Life Park on Tuesday night.
“[Santana’s] a guy who’s hit in the middle,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “And he’s a switch-hitter. It’s a luxury. … It looks like he’s swinging the bat really well. It’s nice to see some guys coming out of the chute swinging the bat like that.”
Full Game Coverage
In the second, Joey Gallo hit a two-run home run a projected 443 feet (per Statcast™) for the Rangers off starter Carlos Carrasco, who worked 5 2/3 innings. The Rangers trailed, 4-2, heading into the ninth. Nomar Mazara and Mike Napoli led off the inning with back-to-back doubles, but Cody Allen struck out Rougned Odor, Jurickson Profar and Gallo to end the game.
“I can’t sit here and say it was a good feeling,” said Francona, referring to the bottom of the ninth. “But [Allen] has that ability. Fortunately, a lot of times, you see him at his best when he needs to be, which is a really good quality. There’s a lot of trust in Cody, and he deserves it.”
Santana’s sixth career leadoff home run — all since the start of 2016 — put the Indians up in the first against Rangers starter Martin Perez. Austin Jackson and Santana made it 3-0 in the second with a pair of two-out RBI singles.
Perez settled down after that, allowing just one hit over his next four innings before leaving after six. Michael Brantley drove in a run in the seventh for the Indians with another two-out run-scoring single.
Click here to read more of this story.
About Marion Online Sports
