Bats strike early, add insurance late to stay hot vs. Astros

ARLINGTON – The Texas Rangers will be trying to start their winning streak versus Houston at Globe Life Field.

The Rangers – who snapped the Astros' eight-game winning streak in Arlington on Friday – came back on Saturday and made it two-in-a-row with a 7-2 victory. Credited for three things the Rangers lacked the previous regular season: a strong bullpen (which pitched 5 and 1/3 scoreless innings), Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford (who combined for five hits, three doubles and two walks). Worked) Scored).

Best in batting: Second baseman Marcus Semien drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning with a single to left field off Astros right-hander Brian Abreu. It was a masterclass in survival; Semien – with Leody Taveras at third base, after reaching on a fielder's choice, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch – fell behind 0–2, fouled a pitch and took three balls, Before he slapped a low and away slider to left.

It capped a great start to the season for Semien, who slashed .323/.447/.452 and reached base in all eight of Texas' games. He went 3-for-3 with a three-run home run and two walks in a 10-2 win over Houston on Friday.

Honorable mention goes to left-fielder Evan Carter, who looked to shake off his early-season slump with a pair of hard-hit doubles. He scored the first run for Texas in the second inning after throwing a bat at 101 mph.

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Worst start: Rangers starter John Gray lasted only 3 and 2/3 innings and needed 84 pitches to get that far. His threat: Pitching with two outs.

The 32-year-old right-hander walked Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez to lead off the first inning, but allowed singles to Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman before he grounded out to Yanner Diaz and brought his pitch count to 22. Extended till. The score was 1-2-3 in the third inning, but it faltered in the third inning.

Altuve reached on a one-out single, but Gray struck him out at first. Gray then walked Alvarez, allowed a Tucker double and walked Bregman to load the bases. He got Diaz to hit a grounder, but shortstop Corey Seager bunted the grab and misfired a throw to first base that allowed a pair of runs to score. Gray then walked Chas McCormick to reload the bases, before José Abreu reached on an inning-ending popout.

Gray has a 6.14 ERA through two starts (7 and 1/3 innings pitched), has walked more batters than he has struck out (6 to 5) and has only 54.9% of his total pitches for strikes. Has been converted.

Best Insurance Claim: The Rangers lead 3-2 after eight and a half innings, with only Jose Leclerc remaining available among their high-leverage weapons.

Leody Taveras hit a single to centerfield and scored on Semien's single to make the score 4–2. Seager singled in the next at-bat to single on the corner to rookie Wyatt Langford, who blasted a 101.3 mph double to left field to score Semien. Seager singled on a wild pitch to make the score 6–2, and Adolis Garcia singled in Langford to make it 7–2.

Langford, who took 2 for 5 with a single in the first innings, has bowled seven 100-plus mph balls in the first eight games of his career. Evan Carter – who followed Garcia with a single of his own – went 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles, and went 9 for 15 at the plate in his last two games after going 0 for 15 in his first five starts. are at 5.