Gio Urshela wasn’t supposed to take the field for the Yankees in Thursday’s series finale. With a day game following a night game — one that featured Corey Kluber’s first career no-hitter, no less — manager Aaron Boone said that he wanted to give Urshela time off to rest his bothersome left knee.
But with the Yankees locked in a pitchers’ duel between Domingo Germán and the Rangers’ Dane Dunning through six innings, Boone decided he had too many weapons on the bench not to use them. So with runners on first and third and only one out in the seventh, he pinch-hit Urshela for Mike Ford.
The move worked as well as the skipper could have intended. On a 2-0 count, Urshela smacked a sharp single to right field that dropped directly in front of David Dahl, who bobbled the ball long enough for Rougned Odor to score the breakthrough run in the Yankees’ 2-0 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field.
The run support rewarded Germán for twirling seven scoreless innings on six hits with five strikeouts and no walks, earning him his fourth win of the season. For the Yankees, it sealed a four-game series win in Texas and extended their undefeated streak to their past nine series (7-0-2) after they lost four of their first five to open the season.
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Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].