Leadoff man Josh Smith produced a two-run double and a two-run homer to back six strong innings from Jacob deGrom as the Texas Rangers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 8-1 on Sunday afternoon in the rubber game of a three-game set in Arlington, Texas.
Wyatt Langford and Jonah Heim added sacrifice flies, Jake Burger ripped a run-scoring double and Sam Haggerty laid down a suicide squeeze to bring home another run as the Rangers snapped a three-series losing streak.
Texas’ pitching was the story as the Rangers outscored St. Louis 19-4 in the set.
On Sunday, deGrom (5-2) allowed one run on four hits and three walks while striking out four. He was followed to the mound by Shawn Armstrong (one hit in 2/3 of an inning), Hoby Milner (one strikeout in 1 1/3 innings) and Luke Jackson (a strikeout in the ninth) for the Rangers.
Cardinals starter Erick Fedde (3-5) nearly matched deGrom, surrendering two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out five over six innings of work. Fedde has not won since May 9, a streak of four starts that has produced two losses and two no-decisions.
The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the first when Willson Contreras singled home Lars Nootbaar, who opened the game with a walk and went to second on a ground out. Ivan Herrera followed with a single, but deGrom was able to coax Nolan Arenado to ground out to end the threat.
Texas responded in the second. Smith slashed a two-out double down the left-field line to chase home Marcus Semien and Haggerty to give the Rangers a 2-1 advantage.
Langford’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly with one out in the seventh off Cardinals reliever Kyle Leahy drove in Semien and boosted Texas’ lead to 3-1.
The Rangers added five in the eighth off Steven Matz and Roddery Munoz. Smith’s two-run round-tripper capped the surge.