Choo finds HR stroke with 2 in win vs. D-backs

PHOENIX -- Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo found his home run swing against the D-backs on Monday, just one day after striking out four times against the Astros.
Choo has been playing too long to let one bad game bother him, and he showed that by hitting two home runs to power the Rangers to an 9-5 victory over the D-backs at Chase Field. Rougned Odor also homered, as Texas won its fourth straight game.
"Choo has been through these situations before," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "He's not going to let it get to him. He really found a rhythm with his swing."

Choo had been in a mini-funk entering Monday's game, but he gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead over the D-backs in the fifth with a three-run home run off left-hander Robbie Ray. The opposite-field shot had an exit velocity of 100.8 mph, according to Statcast™, and was Choo's first home run since July 15.
"Everybody is not going to feel good with four strikeouts in a game," Choo said. "But I've played so long, I don't want to feel anything negative. You really go into slumps when you start thinking negative. I know I was going good in the first half and I knew this was coming."
Then in the eighth, Choo gave the Rangers an insurance run with a solo home run off right-handed reliever Matt Andriese, giving him his 10th career multi-homer game.

Prior to Monday, Choo's last home run came during his club-record 52-game on-base streak, which ended on July 21. He came to the plate in the fifth with just four hits in his last 36 at-bats, including four strikeouts on Sunday afternoon against the Astros.
The home run off Ray was his 19th of the season but just his second off a left-handed pitcher. Choo's other home run off a southpaw was against Kansas City's Eric Skoglund on May 25. The home run off Andriese put him at the 20-home run level for the sixth time in his career.
"I am not a home run hitter," Choo said. "I never think about home runs. Home runs just come. I'm focused on getting on base. I try to hit the ball hard, but I don't try to hit home runs."
The Rangers had 12 hits on the night, including a three-hit game by catcher Robinson Chirinos. He is 14-for-45 with three home runs in his last 12 games.

POWER OUTAGE
The game was delayed 21 minutes because of a power outage in the top of the sixth. The Rangers had runners on second and third, two outs and Delino DeShields had a full count against D-backs reliever Jorge De La Rosa. When the lights came on, DeShields drew a walk. Willie Calhoun then pinch-hit for Martín Pérez and lined a single to right to give the Rangers a 5-4 lead.
• Power outage leads to delay at Chase Field
SOUND SMART
Right-hander Eddie Butler picked up the win for the Rangers despite throwing just one pitch. He entered the game with two on and two out in the sixth and got Paul Goldschmidt to fly out to left field. Butler broke his bat with a 95.6-mph fastball. "He knew what was coming," Butler said. "It was pretty much, 'Here is my best pitch, see what you can do with it.'"
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Odor gave the Rangers a 6-5 lead in the seventh on a home run off Andriese. The home run had an exit velocity of 113 mph, which is the hardest-hit ball by Odor since Statcast™ started tracking in 2015.

Odor entered the game 17-for-37 (.459) over his previous nine games.
HE SAID IT
"You have to give [the Rangers] credit across the way. They're very hot, they swung the bat well against Houston, we knew that coming in. I thought the 12 hits were maybe expected, but it was the walks I thought that killed us today. You just have to eliminate those and you limit the amount of baserunners and the traffic and I think you have a totally different game." -- D-backs manager Torey Lovullo
UP NEXT
Right-hander Bartolo Colon will be trying to snap a four-game losing streak when he pitches against the D-Backs at 8:40 p.m. CT Tuesday at Chase Field. Colon is taking his fifth shot at his 246th career victory. That would pass Dennis Martinez for the most wins by a pitcher from Latin America. He is 1-2 with a 3.94 ERA in five career starts against Arizona. Right-hander Zack Godley is scheduled to pitch for Arizona.