Rangers Sweep Astros
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers have dramatically and forcefully seized control of the American League West in only four days, completing a pivotal sweep of the Houston Astros with an 8-2 victory Thursday.
“Our ball club was as focused, as determined, as locked in as we could be for a four-game set,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “Especially for where we were.”
Down 1 1/2 games in the standings when the series began Monday, the Rangers now lead the division by 2 1/2 games. Texas (79-67) hadn’t been alone in first place this season until Tuesday, while Houston (77-70) held or shared the top spot for 139 days before the Rangers took over.
“Houston is a great team,” Rangers right fielder Shin-Soo Choo said. “Their pitching’s good, their hitting’s good, a lot of energy, a lot of young talent. But I think we have more experience than Houston. We know how to play big games. … That’s what we showed the last four games.”
Choo was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs Thursday, and Texas first baseman Mitch Moreland continued his torrid series with a three-run homer that gave him six RBIs in the series. Moreland hit a crucial two-run shot in Monday’s series opener and drove in the game-winning run with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the second game.
Rangers starter Colby Lewis (16-8) added to his career high for victories after allowing
two earned runs on seven hits in six innings. Astros starter Lance McCullers (5-6) shouldered the loss after yielding three earned runs on five hits and three walks in six innings.
Moreland put the Rangers ahead in the third inning with a two-out, three-run homer off McCullers, tying designated hitter Prince Fielder for the team lead with 21 this season. Moreland’s opposite-field homer gave him eight RBIs in his last six games.
The Astros got two runs back in the fourth after Jed Lowrie singled with two outs and designated hitter Evan Gattis hit a slicing but potentially catchable fly ball that went over left fielder Mike Napoli’s head for an RBI double. The Astros tacked on another run on a Luis Valbuena single that scored Gattis.
The Rangers added two runs in the seventh and three in the eighth.
“The bottom line is we just got outplayed,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “They found different ways to win games and executed pretty flawlessly.”
With 16 games left for the Rangers and 15 for the Astros — including a three-game series between the two teams in Houston — the division race remains far from settled despite Texas’ turnaround.
“Chasing a pennant is never easy,” Banister said. “It takes supreme focus, it’s not looking up, you can’t exhale. You can celebrate the win tonight, go to sleep and get back up in the morning ready to do it all over again because you can never look back.”
The Rangers have won 12 of 16 games against the Astros this year, including seven in a row. They outscored the Astros 45-17 during the four-game sweep and are in total control of their destiny now in the AL West race.
Meanwhile, the Astros need to correct things quickly at home after a 2-8 road trip if they want to stay within striking distance.
“These games are already in the books,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said of the Texas series. “We’ll need to make adjustments at home and find ways to win. … We’ll see them in a week at our place and we’ve got plenty of baseball left.”
