ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers just keep walking it off this season.
While they really have no chance to defend their World Series title, they are keeping things exciting by winning in their last at-bat.
Rookie outfielder Wyatt Langford hit a game-ending grand slam for a 7-4 win over the New York Yankees on Tuesday night, for their third consecutive win that came in walk-off fashion. The last two have come against All-Star closers.
“It’s really cool to be a part of,” said Langford, the first Rangers rookie ever with a walk-off slam. “It’s hard to explain, really. But, I mean we have put together really good at-bats at the end of games, off really good pitchers, closers. Yeah, I wish we could do it a little earlier, making it a little less stressful, but it’s definitely really cool.”
Texas won twice in final at-bats against Oakland right before losing the series opener against New York. Leody Taveras had an RBI single in the ninth inning for a 3-2 victory on Saturday night against the Athletics, then Josh Jung hit a three-run homer on a 101.7 mph fastball from All-Star closer Mason Miller in the 10th inning Sunday to win 6-4.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer in the first and a solo drive in the fifth to move within one of 300 for his career, and the Arizona Diamondbacks held off the San Francisco Giants 8-7 on Tuesday night for their seventh straight road win.
Grichuk had his 12th career multi-homer game and first in nearly two years since connecting twice for Colorado on Sept. 6, 2022, against Milwaukee.
“He’s hot, and when he’s hot he can carry a ballclub,” manager Torey Lovullo said.
Grichuk’s big bat helped Ryne Nelson (10-6) reach double-digit victories for the first time in his career in just the second win in six games overall for Arizona, which holds the second NL wild card spot.
“It was a big win for us to kind of get back on that train we were riding for a little bit,” Nelson said.
Matt Chapman homered in the sixth and Mike Yastrzemski connected to spark a four-run eighth for the Giants on a night they drew a season-low crowd of 23,545 and lost their third straight and fifth in six. San Francisco threatened against Ryan Thompson, who gave up RBI singles to Jerar Encarnacion and Patrick Bailey.
The main event of Week 2 in college football happens early Saturday.
No. 3 Texas visits No. 10 and defending national champion Michigan in the day’s only top-10 matchup. It’s Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff, and it comes 20 seasons after the Longhorns won their only previous meeting in a classic Rose Bowl. The Longhorns also were in the College Football Playoff last season and lost to Washington, the team Michigan beat in the title game.
The SEC-ACC matchup between No. 14 Tennessee and No. 24 North Carolina State is the only other Top 25 game . Look for Volunteers’ wunderkind Nico Iamaleava to put the Wolfpack secondary to the test in Charlotte.
The undercard is full of intrigue.
Boise State and star running back Ashton Jeanty visit No. 7 Oregon the week after the Ducks were sloppy and struggled to get past FCS Idaho. Dillon Gabriel put up good numbers against the Vandals but was sacked three times, and the Ducks were called for eight penalties. The Broncos are one of the top challengers for the Group of Five bid in the College Football Playoff and, though nearly three-touchdown underdogs, will be no pushover.
PARIS (AP) — It’s the end of the second set of a women’s sitting volleyball match between the United States and France, and the French fans are letting loose.
They wave their tricolor flags in the flashing lights. Songs and cheers erupt from the packed stands at North Paris Arena.
And yet, the French have just lost this set, 25-1.
Win or lose, the French fans are turning out and supporting the more than 4,000 Paralympians competing in Paris, especially their own team.
These Paralympics sold more than 2.3 million tickets as of Monday, the latest count, according to Paris 2024 organizers. That puts it at No. 2 all time in terms of ticket sales for a Paralympic Games, behind only London’s 2.7 million in 2012, a moment generally regarded as a big victory in the disability sport community as it fights for visibility.
“We are surfing on the spirit of the Olympic Games, with crowds that embraced the spirit, and now we’re having crowds embrace the Paralympic spirit,” Etienne Thobois, director general of Paris 2024 said at a Saturday news conference.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Final N.Y. Mets 7 Boston 2
Final Philadelphia 10 Toronto 9
Final L.A. Dodgers 6 L.A. Angels 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 2 Minnesota 1
Final Baltimore 9 Chicago White Sox 0
Final Cleveland 7 Kansas City 1
Final Texas 7 N.Y. Yankees 4
Final Oakland 3 Seattle 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Washington 6 Miami 2
Final Atlanta 3 Colorado 0
Final Pittsburgh 5 Chicago Cubs 0
Final St. Louis 7 Milwaukee 4