Major League Baseball
Texas 4, Tampa Bay 3
When: 7:10 PM ET, Saturday, July 22, 2017
Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home - Chad Whitson, 1B - Jerry Layne, 2B - Marvin Hudson, 3B - Mike Estabrook
Attendance: 20568

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Elvis Andrus had three of Texas' five hits Saturday and scored on a costly two-out error in the sixth inning as the Rangers rallied again to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 at Tropicana Field.

"I know he likes to play in this ballpark," said Rangers manager Jeff Banister, whose team rallied from the same 3-1 deficit for a 4-3 win a night earlier. "There are players who seem to fit the ballpark a little better than others, and he got some pitches and didn't miss them."

The game hinged on Rays center fielder Mallex Smith's fielding error as Adrian Beltre's hard line drive went off his glove, allowing two runs to score to tie the game and setting up the go-ahead run.

Tampa Bay's Chris Archer (7-6) compounded the problem with two wild pitches, allowing Beltre to score. The Rangers (47-50) have bounced back from a five-game losing streak with two close wins. The Rays (51-47) have lost much of the momentum they had built after the All-Star break.

"I've got to be a little bit better," Archer said. "After things go down ... I can't throw two wild pitches. There are areas where I could have been better."

Andrew Cashner (5-8) allowed three runs and four hits in six innings to win for the second time in three starts. Archer struck out 11 while allowing four runs (one earned) and four hits in seven innings.

Tampa Bay had chances in each of the last two innings, with the tying run in scoring position with one out both times. Relievers Keone Kela and Alex Claudio got out of the eighth to preserve the one-run lead.

The Rays got a one-out double from pinch-hitter Peter Bourjos in the ninth but couldn't get the tying run home. Claudio closed out the ninth with two groundouts for his fourth save of the season after picking up the win in relief Friday night.

On Friday, the Rays led 3-1 in the ninth inning, only to give up two runs in the ninth and lose in the 10th.

"The beautiful thing about baseball is we have tomorrow," Archer said. "Somebody can step up tomorrow and help us stomach this series a little better than we are right now."

Andrus remained a Rays' killer as he had a home run for the second straight game.

"I'm guessing he likes the visual in this ballpark, but he's been really our most consistent hitter all year long," Banister said.

For the second night in a row, the Rangers and Rays had a pitchers' duel early, with Archer and Cashner dominating hitters.

The Rays had only three hits in the first five innings, and all three were singles strung together in the third inning for a 3-0 lead. Tim Beckham walked and Adeiny Hechavarria singled, and Steven Souza followed with an RBI single for a 1-0 advantage. With two outs, Evan Longoria hit a two-run single up the middle for a 3-0 lead.

Archer retired the first 10 batters in order but gave up a solo home run to Andrus, who also opened Texas' scoring Friday with a solo home run and brought in the winning run in the 10th. Archer was in control aside from Andrus' fireworks as he held the Rangers to two total hits in the first four innings, striking out eight.

NOTES: The Rays announced after the game that they acquired RHP Sergio Romo from the Dodgers for cash considerations to bolster their bullpen. Romo, 34, went 1-1 with a 6.12 ERA this season, but had a 2.58 career ERA before this year. ... Chris Archer's 11 strikeouts gave him 24 career games with at least 10 strikeouts, passing David Price (23) for the team record. ... Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre's single in the fourth inning gave him 2,987 for his career, moving closer to catching Roberto Clemente, next on the all-time list at 3,000. ... The Rangers were 3-10 in American League East ballparks this season before winning two straight against the Rays.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Texas   Tampa Bay
Andrew Cashner Player Chris Archer
Win W/L Loss
6.0 IP 7.0
4 Strikeouts 11
4 Hits 4
4.50 ERA 1.29
Hitting
Texas   Tampa Bay
Elvis Andrus Player Adeiny Hechavarria
3 Hits 2
1 RBI 0
1 HR 0
7 TB 2
.750 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Texas 5 1 9 .152 6 14 1 1 0 0
Tampa Bay 7 0 8 .212 17 5 3 4 0 1