Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker recorded two-run doubles while the Houston Astros sent 11 batters to the plate in a seven-run seventh inning en route to a 9-2 victory over the visiting Texas Rangers on Saturday.
Victor Caratini keyed the uprising with a pinch-RBI single that scored Jon Singleton and snapped a 2-2 deadlock. Altuve followed with a double into the left-field corner, chasing home Jose Abreu and Jake Meyers and knocking Texas reliever Jose Urena (0-1) from the game.
Urena had worked four scoreless relief outings this season before allowing five runs on six hits and one walk while recording four outs. He was responsible for both Altuve and Grae Kessinger, who pinch-ran for Caratini and scored when Tucker drilled a double to left-center off Austin Pruitt.
Yainer Diaz and Jeremy Pena, who began the frame with a strikeout, added RBIs in the seventh.
The rally came immediately after the Rangers blew an opportunity to break the tie in the top of the seventh against Astros reliever Bryan Abreu (1-1), who allowed two hits and issued a two-out walk to Corey Seager before getting a called third strike on Evan Carter.
Texas took early advantage of a momentary bout of wildness from Astros starter Ronel Blanco, who entered his third start without having allowed a run. But his two-out walks in the first inning to Carter and Adolis Garcia proved punitive when Josh Smith and Wyatt Langford delivered consecutive RBI singles, both softly hit, to provide Texas a 2-0 lead.
The Astros didn’t fashion a response against Rangers starter Andrew Heaney until the fourth, when Mauricio Dubon plated Jose Abreu with a groundout and Tucker added a double that scored Altuve and knotted the score. Tucker greeted Texas’ Jacob Latz with the first of his two hits.
Altuve went 3-for-5 while Yordan Alvarez, Singleton and Abreu all recorded two-hit games.
Blanco, meanwhile, steadied himself and worked six strong innings, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
–Field Level Media