ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adrian Beltre wasn’t surprised to see Colorado intentionally walk new teammate Carlos Beltran in front of him to load the bases late in a one-run game.
What happened next was all too familiar for the Rockies.
Beltre singled in two runs in the eighth inning, and the Texas Rangers rallied late for the third straight game against Colorado in a 5-4 victory Wednesday night.
“You pick your poison in that situation,” Texas manager Jeff Banister said of Walt Weiss’ move with first base open. “It’s a comfortable feeling to have one of those guys coming to the plate for you in those situations. So yeah, it will never get old talking about that.”
The first two comebacks were in Denver, where the Rangers had a three-run ninth for a 4-3 victory and erased a three-run deficit in the eighth inning of a 7-5 win. Texas extended its winning streak to five.
In the first of two games in Texas, Colorado rookie David Dahl had a tying two-run triple in the eighth to extend his career-opening hitting streak to 16 games, matching Juan Pierre’s franchise record from 2000. He scored the go-ahead run on Ryan Raburn’s sacrifice fly.
But Beltre’s bases-loaded single with two outs sent the Rockies to their sixth loss in seven games.
It also gave the Rangers a happy ending on a day that started somberly with slugger Prince Fielder’s emotional announcement that he was following a medical recommendation to quit playing because of a second cervical fusion surgery on his neck.
Colorado lost three of the last four on its just-completed homestand when leading after seven innings. And now this after their stirring comeback in the eighth.
“We’ll work our way through it,” Weiss said. “I feel like we have enough talent there to get it right. We just have to get on a roll.”
Jake Diekman (3-1) allowed Dahl’s tying hit before 30-year-old rookie Matt Bush pitched a perfect ninth for his first big league save.
Jonathan Lucroy homered in his first home game since the deadline trade that brought him to Texas, giving the Rangers a 3-1 lead in the fifth.
Lucroy’s solo shot was his fourth in six games with the Rangers and 17th this season, one shy of his career high with Milwaukee in 2013. The Brewers sent him and reliever Jeremy Jeffress to the Rangers for prospects on Aug. 1.
It was also the first game in Arlington for Beltran since the deadline deal with the Yankees. He singled his first time up, but didn’t get a chance in the eighth.
Instead, Beltre’s hard grounder skipped past shortstop Cristhian Adames into left center off Adam Ottavino, the third Colorado reliever of the inning.
“Anytime you’ve got two future Hall of Famer-type guys, it’s a deadly combination,” Lucroy said. “In Milwaukee, we had (Ryan) Braun and then we had Prince right behind him in his heyday years. There’s no bullpen, there’s no starter that wants to deal with that.”
Both Texas runs in the eighth were unearned after Mitch Moreland reached on first baseman Mark Reynolds’ one-out error with Boone Logan (1-2) pitching.
DOUBLE THE FUN
Texas starter Martin Perez got two ground-ball double plays to give the left-hander a majors-leading 31 for the season. He tied C.J. Wilson’s Texas record from 2011. One of them was unassisted at first base by Jurickson Profar, who fielded a sharp grounder from Nolan Arenado and tagged D.J. LeMahieu running near him before stepping on the bag.
SHORT HOPS
Colorado leadoff hitter Charlie Blackmon had three singles, including one on a 13-pitch at-bat against Perez in the third. … The Rangers have a majors-leading 36 comeback victories.
TRAINERS ROOM
Rockies: RF Carlos Gonzalez was out of the lineup for the fourth time in seven games since spraining his left ankle Aug. 3 against the Dodgers. Manager Walt Weiss said he’s still day to day.
Rangers: LHP Derek Holland (left shoulder inflammation) threw 55 pitches in a three-inning rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock. … RHP Colby Lewis (strained right lat muscle) threw off a mound for the first time since he was sidelined following his last start June 22. He threw 21 pitches.
UP NEXT
Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (10-6, 5.13 ERA) faces Rangers RHP Lucas Harrell (3.2, 3.46 combined NL/AL) in the second of two games in Arlington after the teams played a pair in Denver. Bettis, a Texas native, has never faced the Rangers. Harrell has a 7.40 ERA in five career starts against the Rockies.