Texas Rangers Slam Astros, Hold 2-Game Lead In AL West

The Texas Rangers scored 13 unanswered runs to blowout the Houston Astros and maintain a two-game lead in the AL West.

HOUSTON – The Texas Rangers offense erupted for 13 unanswered runs to beat the Houston Astros 13-5 Wednesday at Minute Maid Park in a game that featured umpire warnings, bench-clearing and two ejections.

The Rangers avoided a sweep to hold on to a two-game lead atop the AL West with 59 games remaining.

The teams meet for the final time in a three-game series at Globe Life Field from Sept. 4-6.

The Astros won closely-contested games on Monday and Tuesday, 10-9 and 4-3.

The Rangers weren't going to let another dubious MLB replay call get in their way Wednesday.

Texas (60-43) batted around in the fourth and fifth innings, scoring four and seven runs as part of a 13-run surge after Alex Bregman's first-inning, three-run homer gave the Astros (58-45) a quick 3-0 lead.

A story in four acts ...#StraightUpTX #Ready2Reign pic.twitter.com/pvOrtLrlPx

— Stefan Stevenson (@StefanVersusTex) July 27, 2023

Nathaniel Lowe answered with a two-run homer in the third to pull the Rangers to within 3-2. 

By then, both benches had been warned after Andrew Heaney hit Yordan Alvarez in the first and Framber Valdez hit Marcus Semien in the third. Before and after those hit-by-pitches, both starting pitchers had several close calls. Valdez nearly hit Lowe on a ball four in the fourth before getting the hook from manager Dusty Baker. Semien got revenge with a two-run homer earlier in the inning.

Texas is off Thursday before starting a three-game series against the San Diego Padres Friday at Petco Park.

The Rangers added seven more runs in the fifth, including a solo homer for Sam Huff, who replaced an injured Jonah Heim in the fourth, and Adolis Garcia's grand slam.

When Garcia touched home, words were exchanged with Astros' catcher Martin Maldonado and both benches and bullpens emptied into a brief scrum at home plate.

Umpires ejected Semien and Maldonado for unknown reasons.

Rangers 13, Astros 5

Here are the top moments from the Rangers win over the Astros Wednesday night.

Rangers Keep Hits Coming

The Rangers collected 17 hits Wednesday, their sixth game with 17 or more hits this season.

They have collected 15 or more hits 11 times. Texas leads the majors with 988 hits in 2023. Six Rangers had multi-hit games, including Marcus Semien, who was 3 for 3 with a homer before he was ejected in the fifth inning.
Nathaniel Lowe, Leody Taveras, Josh Jung, Mitch Garver, and Robbie Grossman each had two hits. Grossman doubled and tripled. Lowe's two-run homer in the third started the Rangers' string of 13 unanswered runs.

Adolis Garcia: Grand Master Slam

The grand slam by Adolis García in the fifth inning was his fourth-career grand slam and his third this season. He also had grand slams on April 10 against the Royals and May 14 against the Athletics. He's tied with the Astros' Alex Bregman and Dodgers' Max Muncy for most this season.

Ezequiel Duran Moved Up In Order

Ezequiel Duran hit second in the Rangers' lineup Wednesday. It's only his third time batting second and fourth time in a spot lower than sixth. He was the No. 3 hitter in one game but the bulk of his time has been at the Nos. 6-9 spots.
Here's a breakdown of Duran's batting spot, including Wednesday:
No. 2: 3
No. 3: 1
No. 6: 7
No. 7: 30
No. 8: 28
No. 9: 4

Andrew Heaney Bends, Doesn't Break

Left-hander Andrew Heaney allowed Alex Bregman's three-run homer in the first, but clamped down on the Astros lineup for the next four innings. He lasted five innings, allowed three runs on four hits and three walks.

Up Next

The Rangers are off Thursday before starting a three-game series at 8:40 p.m. Friday against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
Right-hander Dane Dunning (8-3, 3.18) faces right-hander Joe Musgrove (9-3, 3.25).

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You can follow Stefan Stevenson on Twitter @StefanVersusTex.

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