Dunning dazzles in 'fantastic' atmosphere in Bronx

NEW YORK -- Maybe Rangers right-hander Dane Dunning said it best after Friday night’s 4-2 victory over the Yankees in 10 innings at Yankee Stadium.

“I had a blast. The atmosphere was fantastic. It was fun to play in,” Dunning said.

Dunning had good reason to feel great on the mound. He had his best outing of the season, pitching a season-high seven-plus innings and allowing two runs on five hits while striking out two.

Dunning was out of the game when Texas scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning against right-hander Michael King. The game was tied at 2 when Adolis García swung at the first pitch of the inning and hit the ball over the left-field wall for a two-run homer, his 17th of the season. It was García’s first home run at Yankee Stadium.

“I feel really good about it,” García said through interpreter Raul Cardenas. “People were talking about how I never hit a home run at Yankee Stadium. I did it and it felt really good.”

Yes, García stepped up, but it was Dunning who gave Texas much-needed length. Frequently when runners were on base for the Yankees, Dunning induced double plays -- three of them, in fact. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy sang his praises.

“What a job he did,” the skipper said. “He just pitched so well. He got us there in the eighth.”

Dunning credited catcher Mitch Garver for his success on the mound.

“I thought he called a wonderful game,” Dunning said. “The first three innings … I was trying to execute a pitch to get a ground-ball double play. Things went my way this time. I went out there in the eighth inning and my pitch count was good. I was going through the lineup pretty steadily. … I felt great going into that last inning. I wanted to finish the game, but things got a little out of hand.”

A baserunning blunder helped Dunning. In the fifth inning, Isiah Kiner-Falefa led off with a single. He then stole second base, but he came off the bag, headed toward the Yankees’ dugout and was tagged out by Marcus Semien.

"I heard someone scream, 'Out!' in my ear,” Kiner-Falefa said. “It might have been Marcus, it might have been the umpire. That can't happen. I need to stay on the base. I've just got to look around and check what's going on. But I thought I was out, too. I had a bad jump. I thought I was out. I thought my foot slipped off the base, so I thought I heard, 'Out.'"

The first run Dunning allowed occurred in the second inning. The Yankees had a potential big inning with runners on second and third and no outs, but New York mustered only one run. With one out, Anthony Rizzo scored on a groundout by Billy McKinney to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

Dunning had a 2-1 lead going into the eighth inning, but he left the game with two runners on and no outs. Left-hander John King allowed a sacrifice fly to Kyle Higashioka to tie the score at 2.

But thanks to García, right-hander Joe Barlow ended up with the victory, while Will Smith picked up the save.

With the victory, the Rangers improved to 47-28. A year ago after 75 games, they were in second place at 36-39, 12 1/2 games behind the Astros. What’s the difference between this Texas team and past teams when it comes to close games? It’s confidence. It expects to win every night, according to first baseman Nathaniel Lowe.

“So regardless of what the scoreboard looks like, whether it’s a blowout or a tight one like tonight, we expect to get it done,” Lowe said. “Adolis stepped up and did it. Pitching kept us in it; Dunning was great. Bullpen was great. We got the right guy at the dish at the right time.”

Said Dunning, “It’s [a] fun atmosphere. Guys are loose. They are not uptight. They are just having fun. The at-bats have been phenomenal from the start of the game to the end. With this lineup that we’ve had, we are never out [of it].”