Taylor Walls' Walk-Off Single Lifts Rays Past Rangers 4-3

Thursday, June 5th, 2025

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays rallied to beat the Texas Rangers 4-3 on Thursday night.

Taylor Walls hit a two-run single to second baseman Marcus Semien in the ninth inning for the walk-off win. Junior Caminero, who had homered off Jack Leiter earlier in the game, hit an RBI single against Robert Garcia (1-3) to pull the Rays within one run at 3-2 in the ninth. After Jake Mangum flied out for the second out, Christopher Morel singled to load the bases.

Walls then hit a grounder to Semien, but no one was covering first base, allowing Caminero to score from second for the winning run on the defensive miscue.

This marked the second consecutive night the Rays secured a win on a defensive error by the Rangers. On Wednesday, Tampa Bay scored a run when Rangers pitcher Kumar Rocker failed to cover first base and another when Rocker held the ball as Jonathan Aranda scored from second.

For the Rangers, Marcus Semien hit two solo home runs, and Jake Burger also went deep.

Cole Sluser (3-1) earned the win with a scoreless ninth inning for the Rays.

Key Moment

With two outs in the ninth inning, Christopher Morel hit a ground ball to third baseman Josh Jung, who bobbled the ball. Morel raced to first base and beat out the play, keeping the inning alive for the Rays' comeback.

Key Stat

Rays pitcher Ryan Pepiot allowed two runs on three hits over six innings. Jake Burger’s home run in the third inning snapped Pepiot’s 20-inning scoreless streak, which was the second-longest active streak in the majors behind teammate Drew Rasmussen’s 23 innings. Pepiot also gave up a homer to Marcus Semien in the fifth.

Up next

Rays RHP Zack Littell (5-5, 3.86 ERA) is scheduled to start against Marlins RHP Edward Cabrera (2-1, 4.14) in the teams' series opener on Friday in Tampa. Rangers RHP Patrick Corbin (3-4, 3.71) is set to face Nationals RHP Michael Soroka (2-3, 5.81) in their series opener at Washington.

In summary

The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Texas Rangers 4-3 on June 5, 2025, at Tropicana Field. The Rays secured the win in the bottom of the ninth inning on a walk-off two-run single by Taylor Walls, which scored Junior Caminero due to a Rangers defensive error where first base was not covered. This was the second consecutive night the Rays benefited from a defensive lapse by the Rangers. Earlier in the game, Caminero hit an RBI single to narrow the score in the ninth. The Rangers' offense came via home runs from Marcus Semien (two solo shots) and Jake Burger. Ryan Pepiot started for the Rays, allowing two runs over six innings, while Cole Sluser earned the win in relief.

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