Rangers Edged By Astros

By MoiseKapenda Bower, The Sports Xchange

HOUSTON — While Astros left fielder Marwin Gonzalez struck a decisive blow with his first career grand slam with two outs in the eighth inning, it was his tenacious at-bat that yielded a solo homer in the fifth that was most emblematic of the Astros’ steely resolve to make the most of every opportunity presented.
Gonzalez delivered his second career multi-homer contest as the Houston Astros produced a late-game, five-run inning for the second time in as many nights for an 8-7, comeback victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park.
Gonzalez lofted a 2-1 fastball from Rangers right-hander Keone Kela (0-1) just inside the right-field foul pole for his seventh home run and a 7-5 lead. His 10-pitch at-bat against Rangers spot starter Alex Claudio in the sixth inning cut the deficit to two runs and set the stage for another dramatic surge toward victory.
“First thing, I was wishing it would stay fair,” said Gonzalez, who finished 2-for-3 with a walk plus a career-high five RBIs, of his grand slam. “It was going almost foul. It was an unbelievable moment to come back in a game like that. We have been doing it the whole year, so hopefully, we can keep doing that.
“I’m just swinging. I want hits, but if they are homers, they are welcome.”
Jose Altuve, who battled back from an 0-2 hole to walk against Kela as the second batter in the eighth, belted a two-run homer off Claudio in the fourth inning to ignite the comeback. The Astros (18-9) recorded their 12th come-from-behind victory this season and their third when trailing by as many as five runs despite the Rangers belting five home runs, four off right-hander Mike Fiers.
Fiers settled down and logged six innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and one walk with nine strikeouts. Right-hander James Hoyt (1-0) struck out five over two innings to stifle the Rangers (11-16) just long enough for the offense to surge.
“Those get you beat,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said of the bullpen collapse. “Situation where there have been spots where our bullpen has been fantastic for us. Spots where it’s been challenging for us.”
The Astros’ five-run eighth concluded with a crucial tack-on run supplied via a George Springer single, for Texas added a fifth home run in the ninth when Nomar Mazara smacked a two-run shot off Luke Gregerson.
But Will Harris recorded his first save, striking out Carlos Gomez before catcher Evan Gattis tagged Pete Kozma as he attempted to score on a ball in the dirt.
“Today was an amazing game top to bottom,” Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus said. “But that’s the thing about baseball: You cannot fall asleep. I think we did that as an offense a little bit. We played hard. Those guys came back late and strong and they were able to score some runs late. We have to keep playing hard. Stop thinking about it and just find a way to win the game.”
The Rangers inflicted damage immediately, with Delino DeShields opening with a leadoff homer off the left-field foul pole, his first of the season. With one out in the second, Joey Gallo went deep, blasting his eighth home run for a 2-0 lead.
The barrage continued in the fourth inning when Andrus and Rangers catcher Jonathan Lucroy went deep, with Andrus’ solo shot extending the lead to three runs before Lucroy delivered a two-run blast, his second, scoring Gallo.
For Fiers, that marked his major league-leading 12th home run allowed. But, crucially, he retired eight consecutive batters to cap his stint on the mound.
“The line’s not going to do him justice on how he pitched,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “I know … the number is going to be big with the four homers but the line doesn’t show how he pitched. And obviously because of the way he finished with two of his strongest innings of the year, it makes you feel better about it.”