Kiner-Falefa Remains Hot as Texas Rangers Win 9-8 in Hectic Day in Surprise
It was quite the day at Surprise Stadium on Sunday afternoon. And things couldn't have started worse for the Rangers.
The Rangers gave up two runs in the first and second innings, falling to a 4-0 deficit quickly. But the real tragedy was what happened in the bottom of the 1st.
On a 1-1 pitch, a 95-mph fastball got away from Julio Urias and struck Willie Calhoun directly in the mouth and knocked him immediately to the ground. Obviously shaken up very badly, Calhoun remained on all fours as he spit blood and held a towel against his face as the team's coaches and medical staff tended to him.
"It was tough to play after that," Joey Gallo said.
Gallo, along with some of his other teammates, sent their condolences to on social media not long after his removal from the game.
The Rangers announced within an hour after the conclusion of the game that Calhoun suffered a fractured jaw.
It's tough to move on when something like that happens that early in a ball game, but the Rangers fought back. After falling to a 7-0 deficit, the Rangers rallied to score eight unanswered runs. The Dodgers managed to tie the game at 8-8 in the 7th inning, but the Rangers regained the lead on an Isiah Kiner-Falefa RBI single.
For the lighter side of Rangers news, Isiah Kiner-Falefa continues to rip the cover off the baseball. It might be appropriate that he dons the number 9 because he's raking like Roy Hobbs this spring.
Kiner-Falefa was 2-for-2 today with two-run double and the game-winning RBI single in the 8th inning. He is now batting .419 (13-for-31) this spring, with 4 home runs and 11 RBIs. Kiner-Falefa has got a chokehold on one of the Opening Day roster spots currently. Honestly, it would take a cold streak of mammoth proportions to prevent Kiner-Falefa from making the roster at this point.
Nick Solak also gave the Rangers a huge boost in the 5th inning with a three-run home run to dead-center, pulling the team within two runs. Solak came in the game for Calhoun when he was struck with the pitch.
It was a great day for some of the Rangers players, but all of the attention will be on Willie Calhoun for the time being. The team is expecting Calhoun to be out an extended period of time knowing that he has a fractured jaw, which alters the lineup less than three weeks from Opening Day.
Follow Inside The Rangers on SI on Twitter: @SITexasRangers
Like Inside The Rangers on SI on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SITexasRangers
Follow our Rangers insider Chris Halicke on Twitter: @ChrisHalicke
Click the "follow" button in the top right corner to join the conversation on Inside The Rangers on SI. Access and comment on featured stories and start your own conversations and post external links on our community page.
