Chapman gets his first victory for Texas as the Rays allow the winning run on a wild pitch in 9th

By SCHUYLER DIXON
AP Sports Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aroldis Chapman got his first win since being traded to Texas when pinch-runner Josh Smith scored on Pete Fairbanks’ wild pitch in the ninth inning, giving the Rangers a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Chapman twice threw the fastest pitch for the Rangers in the Statcast era with 102.8 mph sinkers while striking out the side in the ninth. Josh Jung led off the bottom half with a double and was replaced by Smith, who went to third with two outs on Nathaniel Lowe’s groundout. Fairbanks’ 100.4 mph fastball to Mitch Garver went past catcher Christian Bethancourt, and Smith scored easily as the Rangers won the opener of a series matching AL division leaders.