Rangers Avoid No-Hitter In 4-1 Loss To Astros

Strong pitching and timely hitting push Astros ahead of Rangers 4-1; Rangers lose 11th straight.

Timm Hamm | Jul 25, 2021

Rangers Avoid No-Hitter In 4-1 Loss To Astros /

From the beginning of what would be a 4-1 Texas Rangers loss on Saturday, it looked like Houston Astros starter Framber Valdez might have an off night as he walked four of the first seven batters he faced, and it appeared he was on his way to a short outing. He recovered, however, and ended up going six hitless innings before Astros reliever Bryan Abreu came on in relief.

Abreu also held the Rangers hitless in his lone inning, including two strikeouts. The Astros' Ryne Stanek then kept the no-no momentum going until Rangers' Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled in front of a diving Kyle Tucker and Myles Straw, ending the combined no-hit bid in Houston.

The Rangers have already been no-hit twice this season by Joe Musgrove. of the San Diego Padres on April 9 and Corey Kluber of the New York Yankees on May 19.

The Astros started their offense off with a bases-loaded walk in the first inning with Carlos Correa at the plate, which scored Jose Altuve. Yordan Alvarez then scored Michael Brantley on a sacrifice fly in the third, followed by another sacrifice fly in the fourth by Correa that scored Yuli Gurriel. Alvarez then added a home run in the seventh.

Andy Ibanez put the Rangers on the board by homering off Ryan Pressly with one out in the ninth. Pressly walked pinch-hitter, Brock Holt, with two outs, but then struck out pinch-hitter Joey Gallo to end the game.

The 11-game losing streak by the Rangers is the third-longest in franchise history and the most since they dropped 12 straight in 1982. Texas is the only team in the major leagues to be winless since the All-Star Break.

Rangers' starter Kyle Gibson walked a career-high eight batters in six innings to lose his third straight game.

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Published Jul 25, 2021

TIMM HAMM