All hail Muncy! A game that kept us on the edge till the very last moment
Shohei went 1-for-4 with a hit and an intentional walk across 5 plate appearances. He came through with a clutch hit when it mattered, and getting walked intentionally just proves how much they respect him. But the real story? Muncy going yard THREE times! I screamed so loud on that walk-off blast I lost my voice.
Highlights
- Muncy crushes 3 home runs including a walk-off homer
- Ohtani delivers a clutch RBI single to left with a runner on second in the 5th
- Andy Pages hits a go-ahead double in the 6th and adds a solo homer in the 8th
My heart can't take this anymore!
The Rangers game — so glad I watched this one live instead of on replay... Nobody could've seen that ending coming. I cracked open beer number three after that one.
Breaking down Shohei's at-bats
First inning, he struck out on Locker's sinker. Can't blame him — 91 mph with that kind of drop is just nasty. Third inning was a groundout, but the exit velo was 106 mph. The contact was solid, the launch angle was just a touch too low. At 5 degrees, that's gonna find a fielder every time.
Then came the 5th inning. He was 0-for-2 coming up and I'm sitting there going "Come on, Shohei..." — and BOOM, he smacks a slider into left field for a hit! Runner on second, and he delivers. That's what this guy does. In the 7th he battled to a full count but popped it up. Launch angle of 77 degrees — yeah, that's a mishit. Hey, it happens. In the 8th they walked him intentionally. I mean, come on, let him swing! But with the score 7-4 and two outs with runners on first and second, you can't blame them. The fact that they won't even pitch to him just shows you what kind of player Ohtani is.
Muncy was absolutely the star of the show
No question, today's MVP is Muncy, hands down. Solo shot in the 2nd to put us on the board first, another solo homer in the 4th to pull within one, and then in the bottom of the 9th... I mean, a walk-off on his THIRD home run of the game. Is this a movie?! I yelled "YEAHHH!" so loud at the TV that my wife came in and told me to knock it off.
The 6th inning comeback was fire too
We were down 2-4, then Kim brought in a run with a sac fly, and in the 6th Andy Pages ripped a double to put us ahead! Pages also homered in the 8th — the guy was absolutely locked in today.
That 9th inning scare though...
We were cruising at 7-4 and I'm thinking easy win, then Carter launches a homer to make it 7-6, and Duran follows up with an RBI hit to tie it 7-7. I'm sitting there with my head in my hands going "You've gotta be kidding me..." Rangers showed some serious fight there.
But then Muncy steps up in the bottom of the 9th. Walk-off home run. Today belonged to Muncy. Three consecutive homers capped off with a walk-off — you don't see something like that in a lifetime.
Shohei only had 1 hit, but hey, a win's a win. That's all that matters. Tomorrow though, Shohei — time to go big!