**ARLINGTON, Texas** — Wyatt Langford hit a game-ending grand slam against All-Star closer Clay Holmes, securing a 7-4 victory for the Texas Rangers over the Yankees on Tuesday night and knocking New York out of the AL East lead.
Langford made history with the first walk-off grand slam by a Rangers rookie, handing Holmes (2-5) his league-leading 11th blown save in 40 opportunities. The Rangers rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the eighth inning.
In the ninth, Carson Kelly hit a one-out single, followed by walks to Josh Smith and Marcus Semien as Holmes struggled, throwing just 12 of 25 pitches for strikes. Langford then blasted a full-count slider 407 feet to left field for his 10th home run of the season.
New York (80-59) dropped to second place in the division, trailing Baltimore (81-59) by half a game for the top spot in the AL.
This victory marked the Rangers’ third consecutive walk-off win at home. They had back-to-back walk-off wins against Oakland over the weekend before losing the series opener to New York.
Rookie left-hander Walter Pennington (1-0), the sixth pitcher for Texas, secured his first major league win after recording one out.
Carlos Rodón, the Yankees’ left-hander, struck out a season-high 11 batters while allowing just one hit over six innings—the only hit being a home run by Josh Jung to lead off the fourth inning.
The Yankees took the lead in the seventh inning after consecutive singles by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe. A balk by José Leclerc (5-5) moved the runners into scoring position, followed by an RBI groundout from Jose Trevino and a line-drive single from Alex Verdugo, making it 2-1.
Volpe added a two-run single with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning. Chisholm, who had his fourth consecutive multi-hit game, likely would have scored from first but stopped despite the third base coach’s signal, later acknowledging he missed the sign.
The Rangers responded with two runs in the eighth inning, with an RBI single from Jung and a sacrifice fly from Nathaniel Lowe.
Texas starter Andrew Heaney struck out eight batters and allowed just one walk over 5 2/3 innings without surrendering a run. Despite his 13 losses this season, Heaney has given up only one run over his last 15 innings (0.60 ERA) but hasn’t earned a decision in those starts.
**TRAINER’S ROOM**
**Yankees**: Right-handers Luis Gil (lower back strain) and Clarke Schmidt (right lat strain) are both expected to return from the injured list and start the first two games of New York’s upcoming series against the Chicago Cubs starting Friday. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will pitch in the series finale on Sunday, having reported no issues after leaving his Monday start due to cramping in his right calf.
**Rangers**: Manager Bruce Bochy announced that right-hander Jon Gray is out for the season after being placed on the 15-day injured list with a right foot issue. Additionally, right-hander Tyler Mahle, who had made three starts after returning from Tommy John surgery, is also not expected to pitch again this season.
**UP NEXT**
In the series finale on Wednesday night, two 10-game winners will face off: Marcus Stroman (10-6, 3.81 ERA) will pitch for the Yankees, while Nathan Eovaldi (10-7, 3.60 ERA) will take the mound for Texas.
