Astros 3, Rangers 2
ARLINGTON, Texas, Apr 28 — This writer has a question for everyone. Who doesn’t love a good pitcher’s duel? That is exactly what fans got on Thursday afternoon at Globe Life Field. It was the series finale between the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers. The Rangers lost their third contest in a row. The final score was 3–2. Martin Perez got the start for Texas, and Justin Verlander got the ball for Houston. Here is a recap of Thursday’s events.
Rangers Hold Astros Scoreless
Not only did Perez keep the Astros off the board until the seventh inning, he also kept them out of the hit column during that stretch as well. He pitched seven innings. He allowed one earned run on two hits. Perez also didn’t walk anyone, and he struck out four batters. It was by far his best start of the year. This was also the longest start in his career in which he has gone perfect. He had retired 18 straight hitters.
Matt Bush replaced Perez to start the eighth inning. He gave up two earned runs on one hit. That hit just happened to be a two-run home run. Lefty John King pitched the top of the ninth for Texas. He gave up only one walk, and struck out one.
Rangers Pitching Notes
Astros pitcher Justin Verlander was very Verlander-like in his outing in this one. Like Perez, he also pitched seven innings. He surrendered one earned run on four hits. Verlander allowed no walks, and he struck out eight. He threw 91 pitches, 64 of which were for strikes. Blake Taylor took over for Verlander. He pitched a perfect eighth inning for the Houston Astros.
Rafael Montero shut the door on the Rangers in the bottom of the ninth inning. He earned the save for Houston. It is his first of the year. Verlander got the win. He is now 2–1 on the year with an ERA of 1.73. Bush took the loss. His record sits at 0–1 on the year, and his ERA is 4.50.
Sudden Offense
As mentioned before, this game stayed tied in a scoreless knot until the seventh inning. It was finally broken up in the top half of the seventh inning by Yordan Alvarez. He singled on a sharp line drive to left field. This hit enabled Chas McCormick to score, making it 1–0 in favor of the Astros. For the third game in a row, the Rangers tied it in a hurry. In the bottom of the seventh frame, Adolis Garcia hit a sac fly to center field. This brought in Corey Seager from third base.
In the top of the eighth inning, Houston jumped ahead to make the score 3–1. They did this on a two-run shot to right field by Kyle Tucker. Jeremy Pena was on base at the time of the blast. The Rangers answered right back in the ninth with a home run by Seager. The Rangers came close against the Astros, but they ultimately couldn’t pull it off. However, they begin a three-game series on Friday evening against the defending World Series Champion Atlanta Braves. Right-hander Ian Anderson (1–1, 5.40 ERA) will start for Atlanta. Garrett Richards (0–0, 2.25 ERA) will get the nod for Texas.
Main Photo:
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Players Mentioned:
Martin Perez, Justin Verlander, Matt Bush, John King, Blake Taylor, Rafael Montero, Yordan Alvarez, Chas McCormick, Adolis Garcia, Corey Seager, Kyle Tucker, Jeremy Pena, Ian Anderson, Garrett Richards
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