Final
Rangers edge Houston; Astros on brink of dubious franchise record
Sep 25, 2013 - 5:16 AM Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - Adrian Beltre hit a go-ahead solo homer in the sixth inning and the Texas Rangers kept pace in the AL wild card chase with a 3-2 win over the lowly Houston Astros.The Rangers have taken the first two meetings of this three-game set -- the first time this month they have won consecutive games -- and remained one game behind the Cleveland Indians for the second wild card spot with five to play.
"That home run was huge right there. We certainly needed and it couldn't have got it as a bigger time," Rangers manager Ron Washington said.
Geovany Soto went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the win, which was credited to Neal Cotts (6-3) for pitching a scoreless inning of relief behind Yu Darvish.
Matt Dominguez hit a solo homer for the Astros, whose 11th consecutive loss gave them 107 on the year -- tied for the most in franchise history.
Brad Peacock (5-6) was charged with three runs on six hits over six frames, the one big mistake coming on a 1-2 pitch to Beltre that broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth.
"I felt like he threw the ball outstanding," Astros manager Bo Porter said.
Texas' bullpen made the slim cushion hold up, as Tanner Scheppers and Jason Frasor each stranded a runner on third prior to Joe Nathan retiring the side in order in the ninth for his 41st save.
Darvish, who twice took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against Houston this year, quickly ended any anticipation of flirting with history again with a shaky first frame.
The right-hander gave up a one-out single to Jose Altuve before walking the next two batters to load the bases. Darvish limited the damage to Chris Carter's sacrifice fly, and it stayed 1-0 until Geovany Soto and Ian Kinsler singled in runs for Texas in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively.
Dominguez led off the sixth with a home run off Darvish, who was pulled after issuing a one-out walk having allowed two runs on four hits with four walks and nine strikeouts.
Game Notes
Texas has won 10 straight against the Astros and their 16 wins against them this year is their most ever against one opponent in a season ... Darvish recorded 52 strikeouts in five starts against Houston this year ... Houston went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine ... Peacock came in 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA over his previous three road starts ... The Astros lost a franchise-worst 107 games last season after going 56-106 in 2011.
- HOUSTON: 2
TEXAS: 3
Final
Sep 24 11:13 PM - Adrian Beltre one-out, solo Home Run (29) to left. A.J. Pierzynski due up.
Astros 2, Rangers 3 Bot 6, 1 OutSep 24 10:00 PM - Matt Dominguez lead-off Home Run (21) to left. Chris Carter due up.
Astros 2, Rangers 2 Top 6, 0 OutsSep 24 9:44 PM - Ian Kinsler single to left scored Craig Gentry with one out. On the play, Ian Kinsler tagged out at second. None on with two outs and Elvis Andrus due up.
Astros 1, Rangers 2 Bot 5, 2 OutsSep 24 9:41 PM - Geovany Soto single to right scored Adrian Beltre with two out. Runner on first and Mitch Moreland due up.
Astros 1, Rangers 1 Bot 4, 2 OutsSep 24 9:20 PM - Chris Carter sacrifice fly out to left scored Jose Altuve with two out. Runners on first and second and Trevor Crowe due up.
Astros 1, Rangers 0 Top 1, 2 OutsSep 24 8:16 PM - HOUSTON: 0
TEXAS: 0
Top 1, 0 Outs
Sep 24 8:07 PM
Related News
- Tuesday Morning Texas Rangers Update Dec 26
- Astros Crawfish Boil: December 26, 2023 Dec 26
- Christmas Morning Texas Rangers Update Dec 25
- Garver to the M’s, per reports Dec 24
- Everystros LV Dec 24
- Christmas Eve Rangers things Dec 24
- Saturday morning Rangers things Dec 23
- Astros Crawfish Boil: December 23, 2023 Dec 23
- LSB Offseason Community Prospect Rankings — #15 Dec 22
- Friday morning Rangers stuff Dec 22
- Astros Minor League Position Review: Third Base Dec 22
- Astros Crawfish Boil: December 22, 2023 Dec 22