Rangers Beat Astros
ARLINGTON, Texas — Adrian Beltre had a historic night for the Texas Rangers on Monday.
As it turned out, the Rangers needed it.
Beltre hit for his third career cycle as the Rangers won a wild slugfest 12-9 over the Houston Astros at Globe Life Park.
Beltre, who completed the cycle with a fifth-inning home run off Mike Fiers, is just the fourth player to have three career cycles. He is the first to accomplish that feat since Babe Herman had his third cycle in 1933.
The third baseman’s offensive heroics were just part of a night in which the Rangers batted around twice, chased Houston starter Lance McCullers after one-third of an inning and had 15 hits. All of it proved vital, as Houston, which at one point trailed 11-3, got within three runs in the seventh inning.
It wasn’t enough though to put a damper on Beltre’s night.
“It shouldn’t be difficult because I’m fast,” the 36-year-old Beltre quipped. “It’s special, but when you play for a long time, you have to accumulate some stuff. I didn’t expect to be hitting cycles at this age. I’m humbled.”
Beltre, who finished 4-for-5, started his run to the cycle with a two-run triple in the first that was
part of a six-run rally. He doubled in the second and singled in the third. He completed the cycle with a homer off Fiers, who was originally slated to start Tuesday’s game, by drilling the first baseball he saw from him in the fifth into the stands in left.
Beltre is the first player to complete a cycle by the fifth inning since the Tampa Bay Rays’ Melvin Upton Jr. did it in 2009.
“I didn’t expect a cycle in the first four at-bats,” Texas manager Jeff Banister said. “What an incredible feat for him. He’s a true champion in every sense, a true warrior.”
The Rangers led 6-3 after two innings and then scored five times in the third. However, Texas starter Colby Lewis (12-4) had to hold on as Houston made the game close on a grand slam by catcher Jason Castro in the fourth inning. Beltre’s homer in the fifth gave the Rangers some insurance and kept Lewis in line for the win.
Lewis allowed seven runs in six innings on a night when the Astros nearly matched the Rangers by collecting 13 hits. However, the early hole was too much for Houston to escape. The start by McCullers also will cost him his job, as the Astros will send him to the minors despite his 5-4 record and 3.17 ERA.
McCullers retired just left fielder Josh Hamilton in the first, and that came after the first five Rangers reached and just before right fielder Shin-Soo Choo hit a two-run homer.
“I’ve seen it happen to guys like Felix Hernandez, so it’s going to happen,” McCullers said. “Hopefully it doesn’t happen again. I’m just looking forward to the next start.”
Houston had to use Fiers in relief for five innings, and now the Astros will now start right-hander Dan Straily against Texas on Tuesday. Just like McCullers, Fiers gave up six runs on seven hits.
Having a big offensive night and still losing was tough for the Astros to take.
“It was disappointing that we lost the game,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. “The silver lining is that we fought back, we battled hard, we played the whole game, competed down to the last out, which I wouldn’t expect anything less from this team. The two big innings, six-run and five-run innings, really puts us behind. The big home run by Castro gave us a little life, and (Colby Rasmus’ two-run, ninth-inning) hit gave us a little life, but just not enough.”
Texas had five players with at least two RBIs, and eight scored runs. Five Rangers also had two hits, with second baseman Rougned Odor, designated hitter Prince Fielder and first baseman Mitch Moreland each collecting two hits and two RBIs.
