The Texas Rangers opened their season in style with an 11-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday. It was a roller coaster ride for the home team, but they managed to pull off an impressive win thanks to a late outburst from their lineup.
The game got off to a rocky start as starting pitcher Kyle Gibson gave up four runs in just two innings. However, the Rangers' offense quickly responded, scoring six runs in the bottom of the second inning.
After that initial burst of scoring, both teams settled down and traded blows throughout the rest of the game. The Phillies took a 7-6 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning before things really started to heat up.
With two outs and runners on first and second base, Nick Solak stepped up to bat for Texas. He hit a line drive into left field that should have been caught by Andrew McCutchen but instead bounced off his glove and rolled all the way back to wall. All three runners scored on what was ruled a triple for Solak.
From there, things only got worse for Philadelphia as they committed two errors in the ninth inning that allowed four more runs to score for Texas.
Despite some early struggles on both sides of the ball, it was ultimately a strong offensive showing by Texas that led them to victory. Almost every player in their starting lineup recorded at least one hit with Joey Gallo leading the way with three hits including two doubles.
After such an unpredictable start to their season opener, it's clear that this year's Texas Rangers team is going be full of surprises.