Padres rally past Rangers 3-2 as Choo extends on-base streak
By SCHUYLER DIXON
AP Sports Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Wil Myers and Hunter Renfroe hit run-scoring doubles in San Diego’s three-run eighth inning, helping the Padres rally for a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.
Shin-Soo Choo singled with two outs in the ninth to extend his major league-leading streak of reaching base to 39 games before Brad Hand got Nomar Mazara to fly out with two runners on for his 22nd save.
Four of six San Diego hitters reached against Jake Diekman (1-1). After Myers ended the Texas shutout, Christian Villanueva lifted a tying sacrifice fly to left before Renfroe’s go-ahead liner down the line in left.
Rougned Odor hit a solo homer for Texas in the second and Robinson Chirinos added one in the fourth against former teammate Tyson Ross. The right-hander had another solid start in a bounce-back season after posting a 7.71 ERA for Texas last year before his late-season release in his return from surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.
San Diego relievers struck out five straight batters, starting with the second of two from Matt Strahm (2-2) in the seventh. Kirby Yates fanned the side in the eighth and Hand finished the Padres’ second win in 10 games. The Rangers lost just their second in the past 10.
Austin Bibens-Dirkx gave up two hits, struck out six and walked four in five innings in his fourth start for Texas. The right-hander is in a similar fill-in role from last season, when he made his major league debut as a 32-year-old following 12 years in the minors and won five games.
Mazara had three hits a night after leaving early for precautionary reasons because of tightness in his left hamstring.
KUDOS TO COLON
Texas right-hander Bartolo Colon was honored before the game for passing Juan Marichal for the most wins by a Dominican-born pitcher. The 45-year-old earned his 244th career win at Kansas City on the most recent road trip. Manager Jeff Banister presented him with a jersey with “244” on the back, and a quote from Marichal was shown on the videoboard calling the milestone “a special achievement for your career and your country.” Colon needs two wins to pass Dennis Martinez of Nicaragua for the most wins by a pitcher from Latin America.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: 1B Ronald Guzman was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list a day after the rookie’s head struck the knee of Padres third baseman Christian Villanueva when Guzman was diving back on an attempted pickoff. … LHP Martin Perez struck out nine in five scoreless innings for Class A Hickory in his first rehab start Monday. Perez has been on the DL since May 10 with right elbow discomfort. Perez had arthroscopic surgery on that elbow in December. He broke a bone in a fall after being spooked by a bull on his ranch in Venezuela.
