Padres rally past Rangers
ARLINGTON, Texas — Shin-Soo Choo is a game away from matching the majors’ longest on-base streak this season only be- cause the Texas Rangers couldn’t protect a late lead in a loss to the San Diego Padres.
Choo singled with two outs in the ninth inning to reach base in his 39th straight game after Wil Myers and Hunter Renfroe hit run-scoring doubles as part of a three-run eighth that helped the Padres rally for a 3-2 win Tuesday night.
The Rangers led 2-0 when Choo struck out looking in the seventh to drop to 0 for 4. Instead of the streak ending in a win, though, Choo kept the Texas ninth alive with a liner over leaping shortstop Freddy Galvis before Brad Hand got Nomar Mazara to fly out with two runners on for his 22nd save.
“After fourth at-bat, strikeout, I wish we just finish the game,” said Choo, who is trying to match a 40-game streak by Philadelphia’s Odubel Herrera from March 30 to May 19. “That’s a nice, clean game, 2-0. I’m not really expecting the fifth at-bat.”
Four of six San Diego hitters reached against Jake Diekman (1-1). After Myers ended the Texas shutout, Christian Villanueva lifted a tying sacrifice fly to left before Renfroe’s go-ahead liner down the line in left.
“We needed it a lot,” said Eric Hosmer, whose one-out single helped get the rally going after a leadoff walk to Travis Jankowski. “Offensively, we haven’t been firing on all cylinders, so it was big to come from behind, kind of steal this one.”
Rougned Odor hit a solo homer for Texas in the second and Robinson Chirinos added one in the fourth against former teammate Tyson Ross.
San Diego relievers struck out five straight batters, starting with the second of two from Matt Strahm (2-2) in the seventh. Kirby Yates fanned the side in the eighth and Hand finished the Padres’ second win in 10 games. The Rangers lost just their second in the past 10.
Austin Bibens-Dirkx gave up two hits, struck out six and walked four in five innings in his fourth start for Texas. The right-hander is in a similar fill-in role from last season, when he made his major league debut as a 32-year-old following 12 years in the minors and won five games.