Rangers Collapse against Astros

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

May 16, 2025

Astros 6, Rangers 2

ARLINGTON, Texas (May 16) — The Texas Rangers’ six-game winning streak came to an end on Friday, when they fell to the Houston Astros, 6–2 in front of a crowd of 33,035. The Astros’ big hit of the evening was a three-run home run by Christian Walker in the seventh. The Rangers will look to redeem themselves in the third game of this four-game set on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Ronel Blanco (3–3, 4.04 ERA) will get the ball for the Astros, while the Rangers will counter with righty Tyler Mahle (4–1, 1.47 ERA).

Late Ambush by Astros

The Rangers scored both of their runs in the bottom of the second with Lance McCullers Jr. on the mound for the Astros. With one out, Josh Jung singled to right. On deck was Evan Carter, who reached a fielder’s choice and a catching error by Jeremy Pena at short. Jung advanced to third on the play.

Moments before Jake Burger flied to second, Carter swiped second for his third steal of the year. Up next was Jonah Heim, who plated Jung and Carter with a single to right.

The Astros got on the board in the top of the seventh against Rangers reliever Hoby Milner. Jake Meyers reached on a one-out single to left. Two batters later, he scored thanks to a double to center by Cam Smith. This brought manager Bruce Bochy to the mound to bring in Shawn Armstrong to relieve Milner.

He got off to a rough start by throwing a wild pitch to Pena, allowing Smith to scamper to third. Pena moved to second when Armstrong walked Jose Altuve to load the bases. Smith and Pena scored when Isaac Paredes singled to right.

Up next was Walker, who sent one over the wall in left-center, making it 6–2 Astros. It also marked the fifth homer for Walker this season.

What Went Right for the Astros

The Astros wanted revenge for being held off the scoreboard on Thursday, and they definitely got it. They were able to perform quite the sneak attack on the Rangers in the seventh inning with Walker’s big home run.

What Went Wrong for the Astros

The only hiccup that the Astros had on Friday was the two-run single by Heim in the seventh. Up until that point, it was quite a pitchers’ duel.

Tough Luck for Eovaldi

Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi made his 10th start of the season Friday, supplying 5 2/3 scoreless innings. His final line was 2 H, 3 BB, 5 SO, 93 pitches/56 strikes. Eovaldi averaged 19.5 pitches over his first two innings, walking a batter in each frame. He permitted two baserunners over his final 3 2/3 frames, giving way to Milner with two outs in the sixth. His three walks were a season high, as Eovaldi had issued five walks all season entering Friday.

Over his last five starts, Eovaldi is 3–0 with a 0.59 ERA, allowing two earned runs in 30 2/3 innings over that stretch. That marks the right-hander’s lowest ERA over any five-start stretch in his career. Eovaldi’s season WHIP of 0.77 is the lowest through 10 starts by any pitcher since Brandon Woodruff‘s 0.76 mark in 2023 for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Armstrong was saddled with his first loss of the season, bringing his record to 1–1 with an ERA of 4.82. He wasn’t able to record an out as he gave up four runs, all earned, on two hits, one of which was Walker’s homer. Armstrong also walked two.

McCullers Goes Four Innings

Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. pitched a season-high four innings in his third start of 2025 and first outing against the Rangers since June 15, 2021. His line was 4 H, 2 R-0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 83 pitches/53 strikes. He has posted a 1.19 ERA in his last six starts against the Rangers since the start of 2020.

Right-hander Kaleb Ort earned the win after tossing a perfect sixth inning with one strikeout. His record sits at 1–0 with an ERA of 2.08.

Bochy’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Bochy discussed the struggles that the bullpen had in this one. “Armstrong has been really good for us lately,” he said. He’s just been used a little bit more than we would have liked recently, and he was tired tonight. These things happen, and tomorrow’s a new day. We just need to shift our focus to Game Three.”