The game was even heading into the eighth. It wasn't for long. Wyatt Langford led off the inning with a homer to left, and Jake Burger followed with a three-run shot to left center, turning a 3-3 tie into a 7-3 final as the Texas Rangers won their second straight, defeating the Houston Astros on Friday night at Globe Life Field.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| TEX | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | X | 7 | 8 | 0 |
Burger finished 1-for-4 with 4 RBI, his three-run homer in the eighth the blow that settled the margin. He carries 16 home runs and 58 RBI on the season. Langford went 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring twice, his homer the go-ahead swing that gave Texas a lead it never relinquished. Brandon Nimmo contributed a double and an RBI, going 2-for-4, while Joc Pederson added a solo homer to right in the fifth, his 15th of the year.
The Eighth Inning
Texas had built a 3-0 lead through five innings, but Houston answered. Yordan Alvarez homered to right center in the sixth, a 455-foot shot, and Yainer Diaz's two-run homer to left in the seventh — with LaMonte Wade scoring on the play — tied the game at 3-3. Then came the eighth. Langford's homer to left put Texas ahead 4-3. Two batters later, Burger sent a drive 407 feet to left center, scoring Josh Jung and Nimmo, and the Rangers led 7-3. Bryan King took the loss, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits in 1.0 inning, falling to 2-2.
Cal Quantrill started for Texas and held Houston to 1 run over 6.0 innings, allowing 5 hits with 1 walk and 1 strikeout on 79 pitches. Hunter Brown started for Houston and went 6.0 innings, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits with 5 walks and 4 strikeouts. Cole Winn earned the win in relief, his fifth of the season, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings.
Alvarez's sixth-inning homer was a milestone: it was his 200th career home run, reached in this game. Pederson is 2 away from 200 career doubles and 7 away from 1,000 career hits. Nimmo is 5 away from 500 career RBI. Texas improved to 48-46 with a two-game winning streak. Houston fell to 46-50, dropping its second consecutive game.