You’ll see a 21-0 run in football. Maybe even a bizarre basketball game.
But in baseball?
It’s rare, but it only told a smidge of the story Tuesday night in Arlington. Simply put, it was one of the weirdest games I’ve seen since I started regularly watching baseball in 1972.
Yankees 21, Rangers 5. And to think, Texas jumped to a 5-0 lead.
A spirited two-out rally in the bottom of the 1st produced five runs and chased Yankees’ starter Chris Capuano. Teams don’t normally lose five-run leads. Especially at home. But, then again, these are the Rangers, who found a unique way to lose for the 12th time in 13 home games.
The historic flood gates were pried open on, of all things, a double-play ball that AL Player of the Week Rougned Odor misjudged into a two-run double. With the bases loaded and the Rangers leading, 5-1, Odor simply misread Brendan Ryan’s grounder. The 2nd baseman inexplicably broke to his right, and by the time he saw the bounding ball it was too late as it rolled into right field. So instead of a 5-2 game with two outs and no one on base, the Yankees were given the gift of a 5-3 game and runners and 2nd and 3rd.
Hello, 11-run innings. Yes, 11.
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By the time Martin Perez struck out Jacoby Ellsbury to end the 2nd inning, the Yankees sent 15 batters to the plate and produced five singles, four doubles and a triple. Yep, to add to the quirkiness of the inning New York scored 11 runs without a homer, and with three strikeouts.
The 21 total runs and the 11-run inning were both 2nd-most ever allowed by the Rangers. It was also the second time in baseball history a team had two pitchers – Perez and Wandy Rodriguez – surrender seven runs in less than an inning of work.
Add to it the fact that after the Rangers put up five runs in the 1st they went hitless for 8.1 innings, and there’s no doubt it was one of the strangest, sorriest games in franchise history.
“Strange,” said Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi. “I don't know if I've been a part of that where you give up five in the first and you don't give up another hit the rest of the game, and you score 21 runs. I don't know if I'll ever see that again.”
Here's hoping the next 21-0 run we see is by the Cowboys' offense, not the Rangers' defense.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
