ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers fell further behind in the Silver Boot Series this week, after dropping three out of four games against their in-state rival, the Houston Astros. After being the victim of a no-hitter in the first game, the Rangers rebounded with a Game 2 win, but weren’t able to complete a series comeback, as the Astros extended their season-series lead to 5-2.
GAME 1 ASTROS 9 RANGERS 0
In the first game of the series, May 25, the Astros shut out the Rangers 9-0. During the game, the Rangers’ offense struggled, as Houston’s pitchers — Tatsuya Imai, Steven Okert and Alimber Santa — pitched a combined no-hitter.
The Astros immediately took the lead in the first inning with a run, establishing an 1-0 advantage. After scoreless second and third innings, the Astros extended their lead to 2-0 on a solo home run in the fourth inning.
In the fifth inning, the Astros scored two runs, raising their lead to 4-0. After a scoreless sixth inning, the Astros added five more runs, including a three-run home run, increasing their lead to 9-0.
The next two innings didn’t see any scoring, as the Astros capped off a 9-0 shutout win and took the series lead.
The Rangers failed to record a single hit throughout the game. The only Rangers to reach base were Ezequiel Duran, Brandon Nimmo, Alejandro Osuna and Joc Pederson, who all did so on walks.
Kumar Rocker suffered the loss on the mound. Across five innings, he struck out five batters, but also conceded four hits, four earned runs and two walks.
Peyton Gray pitched the next two innings in relief, allowing five hits and five runs (three earned), and striking out two batters. Chris Martin pitched the eighth inning, conceding one hit and one walk.
With the game’s outcome virtually assured by then, outfielder Sam Haggerty pitched the ninth inning, recording all three outs in the inning.
GAME 2 RANGERS 10 ASTROS 7
For the second game of the series, May 26, the Rangers rebounded with a 10-7 victory. After failing to record a hit the previous day, the Rangers’ offense erupted for eight runs in the first inning and held off a late surge from the Astros, tying the series at 1-1.
The first inning saw the Rangers immediately take command of the game. Nimmo and Osuna scored the first runs of the game on a two-RBI single by Jake Burger, giving Texas a 2-0 advantage.
Later on, Josh Jung and Burger scored on a two-RBI triple by Evan Carter, raising the score to 4-0. This was followed by Carter scoring on an RBI double by Duran, bringing the score to 5-0.
The scoring run was capped off by Pederson hitting a three-run home run, in which Duran and Kyle Higashioka also scored, bringing the Rangers’ lead to 8-0.
After a scoreless second inning, the Astros got on the board in the top of the third inning with a three-run home run, trimming the deficit to 8-3. The Rangers responded with a solo home run by Carter, extending their lead to 9-3.
In the fourth inning, the Astros trimmed the deficit to 9-4 when a batter was hit by a pitch in a bases-loaded situation, bringing home the runner at third base. The next three innings didn’t feature any scoring.
The Astros continue to fight back, hitting two solo home runs in the top of the eighth inning and trimming the deficit to 9-6. The Rangers extended their lead to 10-6 in the bottom of the eighth inning when Burger scored on an RBI single by Duran.
Though the Astros hit another solo home run in the top of the ninth inning, the Rangers’ defense preserved their lead, capping off a 10-7 victory and tying the series at 1-1.
As a team, the Rangers batted nine for 32 (.281) from the plate. Carter led the way with three hits. Duran recorded two hits, while Burger, Jung, Nimmo and Osuna added one hit each.
Burger and Carter shared top scoring honors with two runs each, while Duran, Higashioka, Jung, Nimmo, Osuna and Pederson added one run each.
Jack Leiter earned the victory on the mound. Across six inning, he struck out four batters and allowed just four hits, four earned runs and three walks.
Jakob Junis pitched the seventh inning, retiring all three batters he faced. Jalen Beeks pitched ⅔ off an inning, conceding three hits and two earned runs, and striking out one batter. Jacob Latz pitched the final 1⅓ innings, striking out two batters and allowing just one hit and one earned run, picking up his sixth save of the season.
GAME 3 ASTROS 4 RANGERS 3
In the third game of the series, May 27, the Astros edged out the Rangers 4-3. In a closely-contested game, an extra run in the eighth inning made the difference in the game, as the Astros re-took the lead in the series.
The Rangers struck first in the first inning when Pederson scored on an RBI single by Nimmo, giving Texas a 1-0 lead. The Astros got on the board in the second inning with a run of their own, tying the score at 1-1.
In the third inning, the Rangers pulled ahead 2-1 when Pederson launched a solo home run. The Astros answered with a solo home run of their own in the fourth inning, tying the score at 2-2.
The next three innings didn’t feature any scoring, as both offenses struggled and the defenses played strong.
The top of the eighth inning saw the Astros pull ahead for good. A solo home run gave the Astros a 3-2 lead. Later on, a throwing error brought home another run, extending Houston’s lead to 4-2.
The Rangers trimmed the deficit to 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning when Pederson hit his second solo home run of the game. Unfortunately, the Rangers weren’t able to manage any more runs, as the Astros held on for a 4-3 victory and took a 2-1 lead in the series.
As a team, the Rangers batted six for 33 (.182) from the plate. Pederson led with three hits, while Danny Jansen, Jung and Nimmo added one hit each. Pederson scored all three of the Rangers’ run.
Jacob deGrom started the game on the mound. Across six innings, he struck out six batters and allowed just two hits, two earned runs and one walk.
Martin pitched the seventh inning, conceding just two hits. Tyler Alexander suffered the loss in his ⅓ of an inning, allowing two runs (one earned), one hit and one walk. Gavin Collyer pitched the final 1⅔ innings, striking out two batters and conceding just two walks and one hit.
GAME 4 ASTROS 5 RANGERS 1
In the fourth and final game of the series, May 28, the Astros defeated the Rangers 5-1. A strong start in the beginning proved too much for the Rangers to overcome, as the Astros clinched the series.
The Astros immediately took control on the game in the first inning with a pair of home runs (one solo, one two-run), building a 3-0 advantage. The Rangers got on the board in the second inning on a solo home run by Jung, trimming the deficit to 3-1.
Houston added a pair of insurance runs in the third inning, extending their lead to 5-1. Those would be the final runs of the game, as both offenses struggled to bring runners home. With that, the Astros won the game 5-1, and the series 3-1.
As a team, the Rangers batted just four for 30 (.134) from the plate. Duran and Jung both recorded two hits each, with Jung scoring the Rangers’ lone run of the game.
Nathan Eovaldi suffered the loss on the mound. Across seven innings, he struck out six batters, but also conceded five earned runs, four hits and two walks.
Cal Quantrill pitched the final two innings, striking out one batter and conceding two hits.
UP NEXT
With these results, the Rangers fell to 25-31 on the season. They resumed action Friday, welcoming the Kansas City Royals to Globe Life Field for a threegame series.