ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — An interesting decision by Texas Rangers third base coach Tony Beasley could play a big role in the final outcome of his team's American League Wild Card Game 1 matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Texas Rangers: Decision to hold Jonah Heim at third base could be factor in American League Wild Card Game 1
With the Rangers already staked to a 1-0 lead thanks to a second-inning sacrifice fly by Josh Jung, Texas threatened to blow the game open early against Tampa Bay starter Tyler Glasnow with a fourth-inning onslaught. Jonah Heim opened the frame with a single to right, then advanced to third on a two-out double by Evan Carter. However, it certainly seemed that Heim could have gone further on the deep double before Beasley put the stop sign on Heim as he neared third base.
The decision cost Texas a run as Marcus Semien followed Carter's double with a pop-up that ended the inning and the Rangers' chance of adding on to the lead.
Granted, Heim is a catcher and doesn't exactly have Trea Turner-like speed, but the decision to hold Heim with the Rays needing to make an excellent throw to nail him at the plate certainly had people wondering if Beasley made the right call.
The decision to hold Heim will likely come up plenty in the postgame interviews (which we will cover and react to later tonight). And the decision may be a little overlooked as Texas did eventually add that extra run in the fifth inning as Glasnow uncorked a wild pitch to plate Corey Seager, someone who we were watching as a key piece of the Texas attack in this morning's Rays-Rangers Wild Card preview.
Will Beasley get off the hook or will the decision come back to haunt the Rangers? We will know soon enough.
