Astros Trounce Rangers in Middle Game

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

September 6, 2025

Astros 11, Rangers 0

ARLINGTON, Texas (Sept. 6) — The Texas Rangers faltered to the Houston Astros, 11–0, Saturday night to even their three-game series. Christian Walker and Yordan Alvarez hit one home run apiece to help the Astros get the win. The Rangers, meanwhile, will aim to win the series in the finale Sunday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 1:35 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Righty Luis Garcia (1–0, 4.50 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Astros, while the Rangers will counter with left-hander Patrick Corbin (7–9, 4.48 ERA).

Walker, Alvarez Go Yard

The game remained in a scoreless tie for the first two innings.

With Jacob deGrom on the hill, the Astros took the lead in the top of the third. Walker came to the plate and sent one over the wall in center for a leadoff homer, his 22nd of the season.

They extended their lead to 2–0 in the top of the fifth. This time it was a solo shot to right by Alvarez, his sixth of the year.

The Astros added a run in the top of the sixth. Carlos Correa, who homered in Friday’s game against the Rangers, led off with a single to right. After Jesus Sanchez struck out swinging, Correa scampered to second on a wild pitch by deGrom.

A walk to Victor Caratini put runners on first and second. This brought Rangers manager Bruce Bochy to the mound to bring in reliever Cole Winn.

After Walker flied to center, Yainer Diaz plated Correa with a sharp double to right.

Astros Add On

They stretched the lead to 6–0 in the top of the eighth. With Hoby Milner pitching in relief, a leadoff triple to center by Cam Smith set the tone for the inning.

On deck was Caratina, who reached on a hit-by-pitch.

Smith scored on a double to left by Walker to make it 4–0.

It was at this point that the Rangers brought in reliever Luis Curvelo.

After Diaz fell victim to a 2–3 groundout, Taylor Trammell entered the game to pinch-run for Caratini.

Up next was Jake Meyers, who drove in Trammell with a single to left.

Jeremy Pena struck out swinging to bring Alvarez to the dish. He plated Walker with a single up the middle.

The Astros weren’t finished. With Caleb Boushley pitching for the Rangers in the ninth, Smith drew a walk.

He moved to third on a double to right by Trammell. Two batters later, Diaz scored both runners with a single to left.

Meyers reached on a fielding error by Josh Jung at third and Mauricio Dubon scored them both with a single to right, making it 10–0 Astros.

They scored their final run of the night when Ramon Urias came in to pinch-hit for Jose Altuve. He drove in Pena with an infield single to short, drawing both cheers and boos from the sellout crowd of 38,332.

What Went Right for the Astros

This was the type of game the fans love. Simply put, it was a blowout. The Astros took advantage of a Rangers offense that fell asleep at the wheel while in park. It seemed like the Astros couldn’t stop scoring, and their pitching was good as well.

It might have helped that the Rangers are currently without Adolis Garcia, Corey Seager, and Marcus Semien for the time being. Those three are all dealing with injuries that have the potential to end their respective seasons.

What Went Wrong for the Astros

The only thing that really went wrong for this Astros team was that they gave up four base hits and four walks as a pitching staff.

Tough Loss for deGrom

Rangers starter Jacob deGrom shouldered the loss in his 27th start of the season, and his third loss to the Astros. He now owns a record of 11–7 with an ERA of 2.78. His final line was 5 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R-ER, 2 BB, 8 SO, 2 HR, 97 pitches/62 strikes. The lone damage came on the pair of solo home runs by Walker in the third and Alvarez in the fifth.

Saturday was his seventh time yielding multiple home runs this year, one shy of a career high. The Rangers dropped to 4–10 when deGrom has allowed one or more this year. They are 10–3 when he does not allow a homer.

Brown Goes Six

Astros starter Hunter Brown picked up his 11th win of the season, improving to 11-7 with an ERA of 2.25 after tossing six scoreless frames. His line was 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 SO, 107 pitches/69 strikes. The 107 pitches tied his career high, previously set on August 23, 2024 against the Baltimore Orioles. Brown dealt with traffic in all but one inning, as he held the Rangers 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, marking his most hitless RISP opportunities in opponent at-bats in a single outing in his career.

He wiggled out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the second by striking out Ezequiel Duran and inducing a pop-out by Josh Smith. His only 1-2-3 inning was the sixth, as he retired his final five batters faced. He turned things over to Enyel De Los Santos and the Astros ‘pen in the seventh with a 3–0 lead.

Bochy’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Bochy tried to put his finger on what went wrong for his bunch Saturday. “We had some good opportunities,” he said. “Just couldn’t cash in on the four hits and we had some walks go to waste also. You go to great lengths to create those chances. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. The only thing we can do is come back tomorrow and try to win the series.”