The Astros pulled away when it mattered most. Tied at 3-3 after Texas rallied all the way back in the top of the seventh, Houston answered immediately in the bottom half, scoring four runs to put the game away in a 7-3 win over the Rangers.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEX | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| HOU | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | X | 7 | 15 | 1 |
Yordan Alvarez carried the offense, going 4-for-5 with two RBI and three doubles. His two-run double in the seventh, which scored Cam Smith and Nick Allen, was the biggest blow of the inning. Jeremy Pena also went deep, homering to left field in the fourth inning to score Cam Smith and give Houston an early cushion.
Texas tied the game 3-3 in the top of the seventh when Brandon Nimmo homered to right field. Houston did not let the tie stand long. Smith singled to left to score Trammell and put the Astros back in front 4-3, the go-ahead play of the game. Wade Jr. followed with an infield single that brought home Altuve, and Alvarez's double capped the rally by scoring both Smith and Allen, pushing the score to 7-3.
Rangers starter Kumar Rocker allowed 3 runs on 10 hits over 5.1 innings with 5 strikeouts. The Texas bullpen could not stop the bleeding either, combining for 4 runs allowed over 2.2 innings, including reliever Tyler Alexander, who took the loss after allowing 2 runs on just 0.1 innings pitched. Evan Carter and Ezequiel Duran each drove in a run for Texas, and Jake Burger scored one of the Rangers' three runs, but it wasn't enough to overcome Houston's late surge.
Astros starter Peter Lambert allowed 2 runs on 3 hits over 5.2 innings with 8 strikeouts, and Bryan Abreu picked up the win in relief while AJ Blubaugh closed it out with his first save of the season. Houston, winners of six straight, improved to 58-55 and sit atop their division. Texas, losers of five in a row, fell to 55-57. Reliever Bryan Abreu, who worked a scoreless two-thirds of an inning, sits 1 shy of 500 career strikeouts.