PALMS STEAL ONE LATE, HEAD HOME WITH MOMENTUM

 By Vin Castillo, Palms Beat Writer

ARLINGTON — You could feel the tension in the dugout as the eighth inning ended. One run on the board for Texas. Zero for Miami. A brilliant start going to waste. A long flight home ahead. A series slipping away.

Then the ninth inning happened.

The Palms cobbled together a few singles, Chris Korb delivered a two-run single up the middle, and Miami stunned the Rangers 2–1 to steal the finale and split the four-game set.

It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t flashy. But it was tough, resilient baseball.

“Sometimes you win by ten, sometimes you win by guts,” manager Scott Hatteberg said. “Tonight was guts.”

KRAGH KEEPS THEM IN IT

Brian Kragh delivered his best start since being called up, tossing seven innings of one-run ball without a walk. Efficient and poised, he kept the Rangers off balance with late life on the fastball and a sharp slider.

“He looked like he’s been up here for years,” catcher Matt Wieters said. “Composed. Confident. He gave us a chance.”

His only mistake: a solo homer to Ronald Guzman in the fifth. Otherwise? Nails.

KORB DOES IT AGAIN

Chris Korb already homered last night. Today, he stepped up when it mattered most.

Texas turned to Luis Garcia for the save. The Palms, desperate to salvage a split, finally broke through—one tense moment at a time.

Yairo Muñoz led off with a sharp single to left, sending a small shiver through the Miami dugout. Frank Sohn then hit a grounder to short that erased Muñoz at second, but Sohn's hustle prevented the double play. One out, one on.

Markakis followed with a single into right, pushing Sohn to second. The dugout came alive.

Pat Grant grounded to first—two outs, but the runners advanced to second and third. The tying and go-ahead runs were suddenly 90 feet away.

Enter Chris Korb.

Already with two hits on the night, Korb didn’t try to be the hero. He just was one.

He punched a clean single into left-center. Sohn scored easily. Markakis churned around third and slid home with the lead.

2–1, Miami.

“I wasn’t trying to do too much,” Korb said with a shrug. Then he grinned. “But it felt pretty good.”

BULLPEN SLAMS THE DOOR

Cody Allen (W, 3–0) handled the eighth despite two walks. Chris Martin, as steady as sunrise, worked around a pair of singles in the ninth to earn save No. 14.

Bench coach Forrest Davis said it best: “Those guys feed off each other. When our starter hands them a lead—watch out.”

THE BIG PICTURE

The Palms avoided a series loss. They showed late-game toughness. They got another strong start from a young arm. They won a tight, low-scoring game—the exact type they struggled with during the losing streak.

And now? They fly back to Miami with a split and a chance to reset.

“We’ve got six at home,” Hatteberg said. “Let’s make it count.”

The Brewers and White Sox await at Coca-Cola Palms Park. The homestand begins with the Palms back over .500 and, maybe, rediscovering that early-season edge.

Palm Tree of the Game:
🌴 Chris Korb — 3-for-5, game-winning 2-run single in the 9th

 Miami Palms 2, Texas Rangers 1

 Thursday, May 14, 2020


 Miami Palms (25-21)                                      Texas Rangers (2-2)

 Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave

 ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---

 Sohn cf         5  1  1  0  0  0  2  0  0  0   .278      Santana rf      3  0  3  0  1  0  1  0  0  0   .375

 Markakis lf     5  1  2  0  0  1  4  0  0  1   .311      Choo dh         4  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  2   .333

 Grant rf        5  0  1  0  0  0  2  0  0  0   .261      Solak lf        3  0  1  0  1  0  5  0  0  0   .250

 Korb 3b         5  0  3  2  0  0  0  3  0  1   .287      Frazier 3b      4  0  0  0  0  1  0  4  0  3   .091

 Encarnacion dh  4  0  1  0  1  0  0  0  0  3   .277      Federowicz c    4  0  0  0  0  2  2  0  0  0   .250

 Wieters c       3  0  1  0  1  0  9  0  0  0   .261      Odor 2b         4  0  1  0  0  1  2  2  0  1   .250

 Holt 1b         3  0  0  0  1  0  7  0  0  1   .248      Heineman cf     4  0  1  0  0  1  2  0  0  0   .250

 Koch 2b         4  0  1  0  0  1  1  0  0  3   .231      Kiner-Falefa ss 4  0  0  0  0  0  0  5  0  0   .000

 Munoz ss        4  0  1  0  0  0  2  1  0  3   .302      Guzman 1b       4  1  1  1  0  1  12 3  0  2   .200


 Totals          38 2  11 2  3  2  27 4  0  12            Totals          34 1  7  1  2  7  27 15 0  8



             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E

             -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -     -  -  -

 Miami Palms           0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  2     2  11 0

 Texas Rangers         0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0     1  7  0


 LOB- Miami Palms 12, Texas Rangers 8; 2B- Santana(2), Heineman(1); 3B- Santana(1);

 HR- Guzman(2); RBI- Korb 2(26), Guzman(3); RLSP- Encarnacion, Koch 2, Holt, Korb,

 Munoz, Guzman 2, Frazier 2, Choo 2;


 Miami Palms              IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA

 Kragh                    7.0  5  1  1  0  5    3.00

 Allen(W 3-0)             1.0  0  0  0  2  1    4.43

 Martin(S, 14)            1.0  2  0  0  0  1    2.25


 Texas Rangers            IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA

 Allard                   8.0  8  0  0  3  2    0.00

 Garcia(L 0-1)(BS,1)      1.0  3  2  2  0  0   18.00


 Temp - 88, Sky - Mostly Clear, Wind - SE 13MPH


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