Marcus Semien had already extended his majors-best hitting streak to 24 games with two hits earlier in the game. His one-out walk in the ninth inning set the Texas Rangers up for their fourth win in a row.
Semien scored the game-winning run on Nathaniel Lowe’s sharp RBI single grounded through the left side of the infield as the AL West-leading Rangers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 on Monday night.
Corey Seager followed Semien with a single, a popup to shallow left field that third baseman Nolan Arenado chased down but was unable to catch. Lowe then delivered his opposite-field shot off left-hander Génesis Cabrera (1-1).
Rangers closer Will Smith (1-2) worked a scoreless ninth for the victory.
The Cardinals, who have lost four straight, tied the game in the eighth after loading the bases with no outs against rookie reliever Grant Anderson. Some botched baserunning cost them a chance to take the lead after Paul Goldschmidt’s sacrifice fly.
Arenado followed Goldschmidt with a drive to deep left, though the two base runners were close to each other when the ball ricocheted off the wall as left fielder Ezequiel Duran slammed into it before quickly recovering to get the ball.
Nolan Gorman scored the tying run but when Tommy Edman retreated toward third after making the turn, Arenado was sliding into the bag. Edman got tagged out and Arenado slammed his helmet near the plate after Willson Contreras’ inning-ending grounder.
Semien had an RBI single that put Texas 3-1 in the second, when he was the third consecutive batter to drive in a run off Adam Wainwright. The inning began with back-to-back singles by Jonah Heim and Mitch Garver before Duran’s RBI double and an RBI groundout by Leody Taveras.
St. Louis got an unearned run in the second when Contreras reached on a two-base error after right fielder Adolis Garcia dropped a flyball, stole third and scored on a single by Paul DeJong.
UP NEXT
RHP Dane Dunning (4-1, 2.06 ERA) makes his sixth start since filling in deGrom’s spot in the rotation. Dunning is 2-1 with 2.28 ERA in that span. Lefty Matthew Liberatore (1-1, 4.91) will be on the mound Tuesday night for the Cardinals.