Rangers Lose Tough One to Astros

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

July 2, 2023

Astros 5, Rangers 3

ARLINGTON, Tex. (Jul 2) — The Texas Rangers fell to the Houston Astros Sunday, 5–3. A big three-run triple by Chas McCormick helped decide this one for the Astros. This was a rather discouraging loss for the Rangers after their 5–2 win on Saturday. Now their lead over the Astros in the AL West stands at four games. They will, however, have the chance to split this four-game set on Monday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Cristian Javier (7–1, 3.72 ERA) will get the start for the Astros. The Rangers will counter with lefty Martin Perez (7–3, 4.28 ERA).

Rangers Score First

The Rangers scored first in this one, as they have done many times this year. Adolis Garcia drove in Corey Seager with a sacrifice fly to first baseman Jose Abreu in foul territory. The Rangers couldn’t get any more runs from this small offensive spark, and it took the Astros five innings to tie the game. In the top of the sixth, Kyle Tucker scored on a sharp double to right by Mauricio Dubon.

The Astros took a 4–1 lead on a bases-clearing triple by McCormick in the top of the eighth. Corey Julks, Abreu, and Dubon were the runners on base at that point in the game. The Rangers managed to claw their way back in the bottom of the eighth. After a double to right by Seager, Nathaniel Lowe belted a two-run homer to center. Their efforts, while valiant, ultimately fell short in the end. In the top of the ninth, Jose Altuve hit his sixth home run of the season on a fly ball that just barely made it inside the foul pole in left. This gave the Astros a 5–3 lead and sealed the victory.

No-Decision for Heaney

Rangers lefty Andrew Heaney did not factor into the decision in his 16th start of the campaign despite exiting the game with a 1-0 lead. His line on the afternoon was 5 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 8 K, 85 pitches/62 strikes. His five scoreless innings extended the scoreless innings streak by Rangers starters to 12 frames. Nathan Eovaldi threw seven of those innings on Saturday. Heaney has no record against the Astros in two starts this season but has managed to keep them scoreless during both starts. Josh Sborz gave up three runs, all earned, on two hits. He also walked two and took the loss. Sborz is now 4–3, with an ERA of 3.34. Relievers Grant Anderson and Brock Burke also gave up one run apiece.

Left-hander Aroldis Chapman made his much-anticipated Rangers debut on Sunday. He tossed a scoreless seventh inning, striking out two. Chapman threw 16 pitches, 11 of which were strikes, and allowed one hit. His 101.6 mph fastball to strike out Martin Maldonado is the second-fastest pitch by a Ranger in the Statcast era. The fastest was by Emmanuel Clase, who threw a 101.8 mph fastball on September 14, 2019 against the Oakland Athletics. Astros starter Shawn Dubin allowed one run in four innings and took no decision. It was his third major league outing and first career start. The Rangers’ other two runs were surrendered by righty Bryan Abreu. Hector Neris came in to pitch the seventh inning. He allowed one hit, struck out two, and got the win. Neris is now 4–2 with a 1.07 ERA. Ryan Pressly pitched a spotless ninth, and recorded his 17th save for the Astros.

Postgame Comments

A slightly frustrated Bruce Bochy gave his general thoughts on Sunday’s action. “Josh (Sborz) been really good, so I can’t say anything about him as well as he’s been throwing the ball,” Bochy said. “You need a key hit, a clutch hit, and they got it in the eighth. That was the difference in the ballgame. It was a good game. Andrew threw well, and overall the Astros played well. It just got away from us in the eighth.”

Andrew Heaney also reflected on his day after the game. “They’re little details, but especially late in the game, when maybe your stuff isn’t as crisp as it is early in the game, you have to be a little bit more fine with it,” Heaney said. “Those are things that I’m working on, and I feel like today was a step in the right direction. Obviously, it’s a tough loss, but personally I feel like I’m getting back to who I was a little bit earlier in the season.”

Eovaldi and Garcia Named AL All-Stars

Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi and outfielder Adolis García have been selected to the American League roster via player voting for the 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 11 in Seattle. Final rosters for this year’s Midsummer Classic were announced late this afternoon in a televised show on ESPN. The Rangers’ six All-Stars are the second-most of any major league club this year to only the Atlanta Braves, who boast eight All-Stars.

Eovaldi and García join four other Rangers on the AL roster. Catcher Jonah Heim, third baseman Josh Jung, shortstop Corey Seager, and second baseman Marcus Semien were all elected as starters through fan voting in an announcement made on Thursday evening. This year marks only the third time in Rangers history for the club to have at least six All-Stars, as the team had a franchise-record eight All-Stars for the 2012 game in Kansas City and six for the 2010 contest in Anaheim. The Rangers’ five position player selections this year match 2012 for most in team history. In addition, Jung and Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder and Seattle native Corbin Carroll are both rookies. This marks the first time since 2008 that two rookies will start the All-Star Game (Geovany Soto and Kosuke Fukudome, both of the Chicago Cubs).