Hunter Pence’s quest for Comeback Player of the Year continued in Anaheim Friday with a two-run single to center.

What looked like another Rangers road game turned into anything but that.

Drew Smyly gave up three in the second inning to put the Rangers down early. As usual.

But then something unusual happened. A few things, in fact.

One, he stopped giving up runs. Two, he pitched six innings, his longest outing of the year. Three, he got a W, which he hasn’t done since 2016. And, four, the Rangers won a road game, which they’ve managed to do just eight times in twenty-three tries.

The game is fun when it’s not home run derby. And the Rangers won this game the old-fashioned way. A basehit.

They took advantage of an error to open the seventh inning. A walk. Then, in what might be the most unusual thing of the night, a ground ball that moved he runners over. Not a strikeout. Not swinging for the fences. It allowed there to be runners at second and third when professional hitter Hunter Pence punched a single to center to score the tying and winning runs, because Mike Trout botched the ball, which is the most unusual thing of all.

Then the Rangers bullpen held the lead the last three innings. That’s not something you usually see when the Rangers are on the road either.

Unusual is good. We need more of that.

*****
TODAY’S GAME:

Mike Minor (5-3, 2.64) vs. Tyler Skaggs (4-4, 5.01)
Game time: 9:07