Statcast of the Day: Texas’ 3-bagger dagger

Elvis Andrus picked a good time to match his longest drive of the season, as he helped the Rangers put together an unlikely ninth-inning rally on Tuesday night, in a 3-2 win over the Astros at Minute Maid Park.

Andrus’ game-tying RBI triple, which Statcast™ projected at 405 feet, set him up to score on Jurickson Profar’s RBI single. Tanner Scheppers closed out Houston in the bottom of the ninth, and the Rangers had their 87th victory of the season, dropping their magic number to eight to win the American League West.

With one out and nobody on base in the top of the ninth, Texas’ win expectancy sat at only 8.7 percent, according to FanGraphs. On top of that, Houston closer Ken Giles was 9-for-9 in save opportunities since moving back into the role, although the right-hander had just thrown two innings in Monday’s game.

But the Rangers got a break, and took advantage of their speed, to set up Andrus’ big hit. Rougned Odor struck out swinging but reached first on Giles’ wild pitch. With Mitch Moreland at the plate, Odor then swiped second base, reaching a top speed of 21.3 mph, his fastest on a steal attempt this season. 

It helped Odor that Astros catcher Jason Castro managed a modest pop time of 2.1 seconds, his fifth-slowest of 28 that Statcast™ has tracked by him in 2016. While the pitcher’s ability to hold a runner and deliver the ball quickly to the plate plays a big role in preventing stolen bases, the catcher can improve the chances of an out with a fast pop time — the period from when he receives the pitch to when his throw …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com