Inside The Rangers

Star-Making Performance! Texas Rangers' All-Star-Snubbed Josh Smith Rips Two Homers To Beat Astros

Josh Smith had two of three Texas Rangers hits and he made them count. His two two-run homers were enough to beat the Houston Astros 4-2 Sunday afternoon in Houston.

Stefan Stevenson

Jul 14, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Smith (8) hits a two-run home run during the first inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 14, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Smith (8) hits a two-run home run during the first inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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HOUSTON — Josh Smith was understandably disappointed when he learned a week ago that he was not selected for the All-Star Game.

He's having the best season of his career, and by almost every metric among American League third basemen, Smith has proven to be All-Star-worthy.

In the last game before the 94th All-Star Game is held in Smith's home ballpark, Globe Life Field in Arlington, the 26-year-old in his third MLB season, made two massive suggestions to those in charge of the All-Star team reserves on Sunday afternoon at Minute Maid Park.

Smith hit two two-run home runs — two of only three Texas Rangers hits in the game — to lead a vital 4-2, series-clinching win over the Houston Astros.

Smith's two-run, upper-deck homer to right gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the first, and then they held on for dear life until he belted a two-out, two-run homer to right in the eighth off Astros reliever Rafael Montero. Between Smith's two homers, Astros pitchers retired 22 of 26 batters with four walks. It's Smith's first-career two-homer game and his four RBI are a career high.

"Yeah, that's probably the best I've ever hit a ball," Smith said of his 392-foot, 108 mph homer to right in the first inning off of Astros starter Ronel Blanco's 3-0 fastball down the middle of the plate. "That one felt really good."

His 382-foot, 99.2 mph homer in the eighth came on the first pitch he saw from Montero, a 95 mph inside fastball.

"I'm always on the heater, so I just make my adjustments off of that," said Smith, who has a career-high 10 homers. "Yeah, [this series was] important. Obviously, we knew the situation we were in, so to be able to come in here and get a series win was really big."

Josh Sborz replaced Max Scherzer with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth and escaped the jam with a remarkable seven-pitch appearance. Sborz struck out Mauricio Dubon swinging, forced Jose Altuve to pop out to second, and got Alex Bregman to ground out to third to preserve the Rangers 2-1 lead.

The Rangers are 5-5 against the Rangers with the three final games of the season series set for Aug. 5-7 at Globe Life Field in Arlington. The Astros won the AL West title on tie-breakers over the Rangers after winning the season series in 2023. The Rangers beat the Astros 4-3 in the ALCS and eventually the World Series as an AL Wild Card team.

The Rangers finish the first half four games behind the Astros, who are in second place in the division, and 5.5 games behind the first-place Seattle Mariners.

Three thoughts from Sunday's game:

1. Jacob Latz Gets Clutch

Jacob Latz got the final two outs in the eighth to help the Rangers hold onto their lead Sunday against the Astros.
Jun 24, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob Latz (67) throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Left-handed reliever Jacob Latz replaced Jose Leclerc with two on and one out in the eighth, struck out Yordan Alvarez swinging on three pitches, and induced an inning-ending groundout from Yainer Diaz.
"He had great stuff, the poise," Bochy said. "He's done a great job for us this year. If you look at his month of June, it was impressive. And we're all going to have a hiccup here and there but you stay behind them. We had the right guy ready. He came in and got the two big outs again, Nos. 3-4 hitters.

2. Semien Made For Minute Maid Park

Marcus Semien extended his hit streak at Minute Maid Park to 25 games with a first-inning single on Sunday.
Jul 14, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien (2) hits a single during the first inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Marcus Semien extended his hit streak at Minute Maid Park to 25 games with a first-inning single on Sunday. It's the longest in MMP history (Astros or opponent). Semien’s 25-game hit streak at MMP is the longest by any batter in a single park since Trea Turner's 25-game streak at Chase Field from Aug. 1, 2016-Sept. 13, 2022. The Last active hit streak by a batter in one park longer than 25 games was a 28-game hit streak by Charlie Blackmon at Coors Field from April 18, 2019-July 3, 2019.

3. Up Next

Nathan Eovaldi is scheduled to start the series opener against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday at Globe Life Field.
Jun 26, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (17) throws against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-USA TODAY Sports / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-USA TODAY

The Rangers are off until Friday with the All-Star Game at Globe Life Field set for Tuesday night. Bruce Bochy and his coaching staff will be in the dugout running the American League team. The Rangers open the second half against the Baltimore Orioles 7:05 p.m. Friday at Globe Life Field. Nathan Eovaldi and Max Scherzer are scheduled to start the first two games against the O's.


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Stefan Stevenson

STEFAN STEVENSON

Stefan Stevenson worked as a journalist and editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for 25 years, covering sports, concerts, and general news. His beats have included the Dallas Cowboys, the Texas Rangers, and Texas Christian University football.

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