Allard's Streak Broken By Potent Astros Lineup In Rangers' 5-2 Loss

The Texas Rangers dropped their fifth straight game at Globe Life Field as the Houston Astros hammered Kolby Allard early in Saturday's loss.

Chris Halicke | Aug 28, 2021

ARLINGTON, Texas — Kolby Allard's streak of quality starts ends at four with Saturday night's outing.

The Texas Rangers lost by a score of 5-2 on Saturday, as the Houston Astros' bats got off to a much better start against Allard than they did against Glenn Otto on Friday.

Allard had a rough go of it in the second inning, giving up three runs and tight-roping out of a bases-loaded jam to end the frame. His bid for another quality start ended when Carlos Correa took him deep with one out in the third inning, giving Houston a 4-0 lead.

While Allard was able to avoid the big inning, which is something he struggled with before his recent success, he relied too much on the fastball-cutter combo — and the Astros were all over it.

"It's something we've talked to him a lot about," said Rangers manager Chris Woodward. "If he can add that [changeup] and make that effective from the beginning of the game, it gets guys off his fastball. His fastball plays up. His cutter plays better. He got some double plays and some weak ground balls with that changeup."

Woodward added that Allard has typically thought of himself as a fastball-cutter pitcher, but he may need to change into more of a fastball-changeup type of guy, with an occasional cutter.

"That's kind of how it's showing up right now," Woodward said.

On the offensive side, the Rangers struggled again with runners in scoring position, going 0-for-6 on the night. Adolis García provided the most offense, registering two hits, including a solo homer in the sixth inning to pull the Rangers within three runs. It was García's 28th long ball this season, which puts him just two behind Pete Incaviglia's 30 in 1986 for the Rangers record for most home runs by a rookie.

As the season draws to a close, some of the younger Rangers have an opportunity to put their names in consideration for jobs going into spring training next season. Since being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock, Leody Taveras has not been able to carry over what's been a decent season at the highest level of the minor leagues.

Taveras went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts on Saturday night, and is now 0-for-16 since being recalled earlier in the week.

"[There's] a little indecisiveness; not a whole lot of conviction," Woodward said. "I'll give him a little bit of leeway on [Houston's Framber Valdez]. It's not a great matchup for anybody. But I just thought he was a little bit in between, and like I said, not a lot of conviction when he's swinging the bat.

"Right now, he's not confident. When he got here, I was hoping the success he had in Triple-A he could bring that here and hopefully it would carry over. The big leagues is tough. He's asking all the right questions. He's doing the right work. It's gonna take a few more adjustments to have some success here."

Injury Report

Andy Ibáñez left Saturday night's game in the seventh inning with tightness in his left hamstring. Manager Chris Woodward said Ibáñez injured it while running down the baseline in his at-bat in the sixth inning. The Rangers skipper also said he is "not optimistic" regarding his return. Ibáñez will be further evaluated on Sunday.

Quick Numbers

The Rangers are 3-11 against the Astros this season. All five remaining contests are at Globe Life Field.
The Rangers have lost five straight games at Globe Life Field, tied for the longest streak in the young history of the stadium.
In order to avoid a 100-loss season, the Rangers must finish with a 19-14 record.
Saturday's paid attendance of 37,810 was the third-highest figure this season and the highest for a non-sellout. 259 dogs were also in attendance for Bark At The Park night.

What's Next

The Rangers (44-85) and Astros (77-52) will conclude their three-game series on Sunday afternoon. Taylor Hearn (3-4, 4.08 ERA) will take the ball for the Rangers, as Zack Greinke (11-4, 3.41 ERA) take the hill for Houston.

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Published Aug 28, 2021

CHRIS HALICKE