Texas Rangers slugger Joey Gallo hit a towering fly ball toward the right field wall. He suddenly stopped running between first and second base, briefly holding out both hands and unsure if he had homered or not.
The ball had gotten over Jay Bruce's outstretched glove for a two-run shot that put the Rangers ahead to stay as they snapped a four-game losing streak with a 10-8 victory over the New York Mets on Tuesday night.
Bruce, robbed of a homer in the top of the same inning, was still leaning against the 8-foot wall after coming down from his leap when Gallo stopped with teammate Adrian Beltre just ahead of him after reaching on his 2,952nd career hit.
"Joey hit it so high. We're all kind of watching it, and it's like maybe it's going to go, maybe it's not," Rangers center fielder Jared Hoying said. "And [Bruce] jumped, and we still couldn't tell if he robbed it or not."
Said Bruce, "It was just super high. I don't really know how close I was to it."
Gallo's 17th homer put the Rangers ahead to stay at 5-4 in the third, after Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker had homered in the top of the inning. In between those shots, Bruce was robbed when Hoying made a leaping catch against the wall in straightaway center.
"Those are fun," Hoying said. "He hit it high enough and I timed it out right at the wall."
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Nomar Mazara had four hits and also homered for the Rangers.
Beltre hit first base awkwardly when he had an RBI fielder's choice in the first, but remained in the game until coming out for a pinch-runner after he walked in the sixth. Afterward, he was wearing a protective boot because of a sprained left ankle and said he didn't expect to play Wednesday.
"It got a little worse. I was trying to finish the game," said Beltre, who missed the first 51 games this season with calf issues. "We'll wait a couple of days and see how it goes."
Juan Lagares also had a homer among his four hits for New York, which left 13 runners on base while losing for the fifth time in six games.
Curtis Granderson and Travis d'Arnaud homered on consecutive pitches in the ninth off Matt Bush, the Rangers' closer making his first appearance since last Wednesday and pitching in a non-save situation.
After catching the relay throw on a game-ending double play, Bush spiked the baseball and then tossed it away.
First Victory
Austin Bibens-Dirkx (1-0), a 32-year-old right-hander, worked 1⅔ scoreless innings for his first major league victory. He had relieved Dillon Gee, the former Mets pitcher who allowed four runs and three homers over 3⅓ innings in his first start for Texas.
Another Struggle
Mets starter Jacob deGrom (4-3) pitched only four innings for the second straight start. The right-hander gave up eight runs and 10 hits to the Rangers, after Milwaukee had seven runs and eight hits off him six days earlier.
"The two-seamer's not working right now, and he's leaving balls right in the hitting area," manager Terry Collins said.
Short Hops
New York (24-32) is eight games under .500 for the first time since Sept. 6, 2014. ... Mazara's second career four-hit game came exactly a year after his first. ... The Mets' 23 road games are the fewest in the majors. The opener in Texas started a stretch with 16 of 23 away from Citi Field.
The Other League
Texas is 7-1 in interleague games this season. New York is 2-2, but its 180-166 record against AL teams is the best among NL teams since interleague play began in 1997. ... Beltre played in his 300th career interleague game, the most ever in the majors. He had been tied with Miami's Ichiro Suzuki at 299.
Trainer's Room
Rangers: 1B Mike Napoli was put on the 10-day DL because of a lower back strain. The move was retroactive to Sunday, the day after Napoli came out of his last game. ... RHP Tyson Ross (thoracic outlet syndrome) will make another rehab start this weekend for Triple-A Round Rock.
Mets: RHP Seth Lugo (right elbow) and LHP Steven Matz (left elbow) are both with the team in Texas. The expectation is for both to come off the DL to make season debuts with starts in Atlanta this weekend.
Up Next
Rangers: RHP Yu Darvish (5-4) has needed 213 pitches to get through 11 innings in losing his last two starts. He had 16 strikeouts, but gave up three-run homers in the fifth inning both times.
Mets: RHP Zach Wheeler (4-6) has a 2.64 ERA over his last six starts.
