Struggling at the plate for seven innings, the Round Rock Express found some late-game magic. After firing off five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Express pulled off a 6-4 come-from-behind victory over the El Paso Chihuahuas Thursday night at Dell Diamond.
Emotions were high for the Express, as their parent club, the Texas Rangers, in the midst of an American League playoff push, made deals to bolster its relief pitching on the final day of the MLB’s trade deadline.
Round Rock lost four players; two were assigned to Arlington, with the other pair getting sent off to the St. Louis and Arizona organizations — just hours before tonight’s first pitch.
“It sucks, especially the guys that are heading out … the clubhouse is so important in the game,” designated hitter Konner Piotto said after the game. “This group has played together for four, five, six seasons now. It sucks to see those guys go.”
Despite the setback, the Express still managed to rally late, as shortstop Michael Helman’s second base hit kickstarted a six-hit, five-run inning to pull ahead of the Chihuahuas.
“When you have a good clubhouse of guys that click well together, you can kind of just string anything together at any given time,” Helman said about the late-game rally. “It kind of cools off later here.”
El Paso starting pitcher Wes Benjamin was on the mound for the majority of the night, dicing up the Express hitters for seven innings. En route to a four-hit, six-strikeout night and allowing only a single run in the sixth inning to pass by during his time on the hill, Round Rock had few answers for Benjamin.
After 92 pitches from the veteran south paw, the Chihuahuas handed the mound to relief pitcher Harold Chirino to preserve their narrow 2-1 lead in the eighth inning. It proved to be the break that the Express was looking for.
With the bases loaded, Express first baseman Justin Foscue drove in the game-tying run after being hit by a pitch, allowing Helman to walk home for the effortless run.
“Oh, it was great,” Helman said. “I just had to watch (Foscue) be in a little pain.”
Round Rock left fielder Trevor Hauver fired the game-winning hit of Chirino, a two-RBI single, making his first breakthrough at the plate tonight after going 0-3 against Benjamin.
Second baseman Alan Trejo and Piotto added insurance to the Express’ lead with RBI singles to cap off the five-run inning.
“It’s awesome,” Piotto said of Hauver’s two-RBI single. “He put a really good swing, like he always does, on a good pitch to hit, and ends up with the game-winning RBI.”
The Express did need the insurance runs, as veteran closer Craig Kimbrel gave up a two-out, two-RBI single to El Paso Luis Campusano in the top of the ninth. Kimbrel would end the game with a full count strikeout, sealing the win.
