On Thursday, the Houston Astros picked up a win in their "home away from home" over the Texas Rangers. The Astros have been playing their latest series with Texas in St. Petersburg, Florida, due to the recent storms that have ravaged the city of Houston. The Astros were able to triumph 5-1 in this last game before they go back to Houston, thanks to a Jose Altuve home run and several solid innings of pitching. Here's the latest Rangers vs. Astros game recap including top performers, stats, a standings update, and what's next for each of these teams.
MLB game recap
After losing two-straight games against Texas, the Houston Astros bounced back on Thursday with a 5-1 win. The two teams played their third and final game at Tropicana Field with each squad scoring a run in the first inning. However, that was it for the Rangers as they failed to score in the next eight innings thanks to a combination of pitchers holding them to just four hits.
Houston got a Home Run from Jose Altuve in the first inning. It was his 21st of the season and his 71st RBI. Derek Fisher came in as a designated hitter and managed to add two RBIs. Shortstop Alex Bregman ended up going 2-for-4 in his appearances at the plate and also added a RBI as did Josh Reddick.
Right fielder Nomar Mazara had the only RBI of the game for the Texas Rangers.
That came in the first inning when he hit a double to score Shin Soo Choo. The only other two hits that the Rangers managed for the game came from Joey Gallo and Brett Nicholas, but no runs were scored as the Houston pitchers shut them out for eight innings.
Picking up today's win for the Astros was Chris Devenski who is now 7-3, while Ken Giles earned his 27th save of the season.
Collin McHugh opened the game on the mound and struck out three, allowing four hits, and Texas' only run. The Rangers' Nick Martinez (3-6) came up on the losing side of today's game despite striking out six batters over five innings, as he gave up two runs to the opposition.
Standings & what's next
The Houston Astros are now 80-53 after today's victory.
The team continues to lead the American League West division as they look towards the playoffs. Next up, Houston will take on the New York Mets on Saturday with game time scheduled for 2:10 p.m. Eastern Time in Texas.
For the Texas Rangers, today's loss puts them below .500 with a record of 66-67. They've gone 5-5 over their last 10 games. Texas is still part of the MLB Wild Card chase, as they're four games behind the Minnesota Twins for the second of two spots. They'll return home tomorrow to host the Los Angeles Angels on Friday with the game starting at 8:05 p.m. Eastern Time.