ARLINGTON — An intentional walk can be nothing more than strategy. It can also show respect for one hitter while sending a rather different message to the guy standing on deck.
“Everyone takes it differently,” Richie Palacios said. “Some guys take it as motivation. Some guys just take it as part of the game.”
Aranda delivered the decisive blow in the 10th inning, a three-run home run in the Rays’ 6-3 victory over the Rangers on Saturday night at Globe Life Field in one of those September-defining triumphs.
“To be honest, when they put Yandy [Díaz] on and they intentionally walked him, I took it personally,” Aranda said via interpreter Kevin Vera.
Aranda drove lefty Jacob Latz’s 1-2 slider a Statcast-projected 409 feet to right-center field for the Rays, who maintained their four-game lead in the America League East. The Yankees kept pace with their 5-1 victory at San Diego.
“A tough matchup right there, but Jonny hung in there in a big way. [He] got to two strikes and it looked like he went down and got a [slider],” manager Kevin Cash said. “Huge home run.”
Jorge Mateo began the 10th as the automatic runner at second. He advanced on Taylor Walls’ sacrifice bunt. Díaz was intentionally walked, setting up Aranda.
Right-hander Tyler Wells (4-2) earned the victory in relief, working scoreless ninth and 10th innings.
Acquired from Baltimore at the Trade Deadline, Wells has become one of Tampa Bay’s most reliable relievers, posting a 1.69 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 16 innings over 12 appearances for the Rays.
The outcome preserved a brilliant outing from right-hander Drew Rasmussen, who muzzled the Rangers over seven strong innings.
The right-hander limited Texas to one run on three hits. He struck out seven and didn’t walk a hitter, outdueling Rangers ace Jacob deGrom. Rasmussen’s lone misstep was a curveball to Joc Pederson, who hit a first-pitch homer with one out in the sixth inning.
Rasmussen retired the Rangers in order in the first three innings. He left one-out singles stranded in the fourth and fifth innings. He retired the side in order in the seventh.
“The changeup has been a big pitch for him here lately,” Cash said. “You marvel at a guy that’s so talented and so good already without it. And then he just adds that to his repertoire to come into August and September, and really lean on it heavy this year. But he was pretty meticulous with the way he navigated the strike zone throughout that lineup.”
Over Rasmussen’s past nine starts since July 21, he holds a 2.17 ERA, allowing 13 earned runs on 35 hits over 54 innings, with 58 strikeouts and 10 walks.
“This organization does a great job of preparing us to give our team the best chance to win,” Rasmussen said. “It’s as simple as preparation and execution. If you execute the game plan that you go in there with, most of the time you’re going to find good results.”
In a game featuring two premier starters, we figured the first to three runs would be the winner. That’s what we get for figuring.
The Rays fired the opening salvo with Junior Caminero’s AL-leading 38th home run in the first off deGrom. In the fifth, Palacios hit a 2-0 sinker out of the park, his second homer in as many days.
In the eighth, Tampa Bay added what we thought would be the magic third run. Liam Hicks’ base hit scored Aranda, who started a two-out rally. The Tampa Bay bullpen, though, couldn’t protect the two-run lead.
The Rangers touched up Kevin Kelly and Cam Booser for two runs in the bottom of the eighth. Evan Carter led off the inning with a home run. With one out, Justin Foscue doubled in Cam Cauley from first to tie the game.
Tampa Bay’s bullpen has shown some cracks lately, posting a 4.56 ERA over the Rays’ previous seven games, with 13 earned runs allowed in 25 2/3 innings.
But with Aranda’s 10th-inning blast, Cash told Wells to go back out and finish it.
“He’s been huge for us and today we probably pushed him a little farther than we normally would, but we knew that this was a big opportunity, a big chance for us to win a game,” Cash said. “I felt confident with him out there. The way he commands the baseball is pretty special.”