Carter ties it up

Evan Carter answered Shohei Ohtani’s leadoff homer with one of his own on April 12, and Texas beat Los Angeles 5-2 to avoid a sweep. (mlb.com) Carter tied the game 1-1 by opening the third inning with a solo shot to right off Roki Sasaki, a 387-foot drive hit at 101.7 miles per hour. (mlb.com) Jacob deGrom gave up Ohtani’s homer on his first pitch, then held the Dodgers to one run over six innings with nine strikeouts and 93 pitches. Jakob Junis got the last three outs for his second save. (espn.com) Texas broke the tie in the seventh inning when Brandon Nimmo drove in two runs, then added another in the eighth on Josh Smith’s run-scoring single. The Rangers finished with 10 hits and 10 walks against five Dodgers pitchers. (fangraphs.com) The swing was another early sign that Carter is regaining a larger role in the Texas lineup after a 2024 season shortened by a back injury. Major League Baseball’s Rangers coverage noted that he hit.188 in 45 games last year before returning healthy. (mlb.com) Carter arrived in the majors with a fast start in September 2023, when he hit.306 with five home runs in 23 games. Texas has since shifted center field to him after moving on from Leody Taveras. (mlb.com) Sunday’s win left Texas at 8-7, tied with the Athletics atop the American League West, while the Dodgers fell to 11-4 in the National League West. Texas opens a four-game series in West Sacramento on Monday with Nathan Eovaldi scheduled to face Luis Severino. (espn.com) For one afternoon at Dodger Stadium, Carter’s answer in the third inning kept a 1-0 game from turning into a sweep and gave deGrom enough room to finish the job. (apnews.com)