ARLINGTON -- Rangers pitcher Adrian Sampson, a day after his first relief appearance since moving back to the bullpen, entered Saturday’s game facing a one-out, bases-loaded situation. A groundball from George Springer -- which Logan Forsythe couldn’t handle -- and strikeouts against Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman ended the inning and limited what could’ve been a breakaway inning for Houston.
That, according to Rangers manager Chris Woodward, was enough for Sampson to earn a job-well-done seal of approval, considering that it was the first time Sampson had pitched in back-to-back Major League games.
But then Sampson went out and pitched two-straight shutout innings, turning the ball over with the game tied at 5.