Final thoughts from Texas Rangers’ win over Tigers: Josh Smith stays hot, comes up big

DETROIT — They beat the rain, and that’s what matters.

Oh, and, they beat the Tigers.

The Rangers used a ninth-inning rally to win 5-4 on Wednesday at Comerica Park. Utility infielder Josh Smith drove in the go-ahead run with a pinch-hit double in the top of the ninth inning, and right-handed pitcher Kirby Yates shut it down in the bottom half of the inning as dark storm clouds crept across the Detroit skyline.

Yates, who threw 1 and 1/3 scoreless innings and earned the win, pitched like someone who didn’t want to sit through a rain delay.

“And we didn’t either,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said.

Didn’t have to.

Here are four thoughts on the Rangers’ win.

Josh Smith’s heroics: Smith — with Ezequiel Duran at second base and Evan Carter at first — pinch hit for Davis Wendzel vs. right-hander Shelby Miller with one out in the ninth inning of a tied game. He didn’t waste much time.

The 26-year-old drove a first-pitch slider into right-center to score Duran from second base and give the Rangers a 5-4 lead.

“First and second, that situation, I was just trying to be aggressive,” Smith said. “If it was something over the middle of the plate, I’m trying to go. Luckily he just kind of threw it there.”

Smith has slashed .319/.418/.404 with 10 RBIs, 7 runs scored and 4 doubles as the Rangers’ primary starting third baseman with Josh Jung (wrist fracture) on the injured list. He didn’t start on Wednesday against left-hander Tarik Skubal.

“Baseball is so hard, man. If you don’t have confidence you’re not going to go up there and get hits,” Smith said. “So whether I’m struggling or not, I’m just trying to go up there and put a good swing on it.”

A swing of luck: The Rangers’ 4-2 loss to the Tigers on Tuesday was marred by misfortune. Wednesday’s game turned toward that direction in the eighth inning when Detroit’s Javier Baez scored the game-tying run on a soft-hit 70 mph single off of right-hander David Robertson.

Then things swung in Texas’ direction.

Duran reached with one out in the ninth inning on a 108.6-mph single that ricocheted off of first baseman Spencer Torkelson’s glove. Then Carter reached on a Torkelson fielding error to put runners on for Smith.

“You hope that things even out when the ball doesn’t bounce your way and bloopers and everything,” Bochy said. “It was going our way, then it went back to their way. They got some cheap hits. But that’s part of the game, and you just hope that it all evens out.”

Dunning delivers: Rangers starter Dane Dunning gave up just one earned run on four walks and three hits in five innings on Wednesday. He was not at his sharpest but worked around it.

Dunning walked leadoff hitter Riley Greene in the first inning, but struck out Mark Canha and got Torkelson to hit into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. Kerry Carpenter hit a solo home run to lead off the second and Colt Keith reached on a one-out single, but a Javier Baez fielder’s choice and a Parker Meadows flyout ended the inning. In the third, he walked Canha and Torkelson with two outs, but struck out Carpenter on a low slider to strand them.

“Good pitchers find a way when they hit the mound on their day and don’t have their best stuff,” Bochy said. “It’s all about competing ... today, [Dunning did]. It’s funny, we say he didn’t have his best stuff, but here he was in the sixth inning and what, he gave up one earned run? He gave up the home run, but he regrouped and pitched a great game for us.”

Torkelson doubled off of Dunning to begin the sixth, and Bochy replaced him with left-hander Jacob Latz. Torkelson came around to score on a Corey Seager throwing error that sailed just high of Duran at first base.

El Bombi, the producer: Right fielder Adolis García plated the game’s first run in the first inning with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to score Marcus Semien and give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. He drove in another in the sixth inning with a booming double to right field that was a foot shy of a three-run home run to score Semien; catcher Jonah Heim laced a single up the middle to score shortstop Corey Seager and García to give the Rangers a 4-1 lead at the time.

Twitter: @McFarland_Shawn

Find more Rangers coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Click or tap here to sign up for our Rangers newsletter.