This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Given the tenacity the Rangers showed on Saturday en route to a 2-1 victory in 10 innings over the host Houston Astros, there can be no questioning whether Texas was just going to coast into the All-Star break.
The Rangers finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, with that lone hit coming from Nathaniel Lowe with two outs and two strikes and Josh Smith on third base in the top of the 10th. That single enabled the Rangers to square their three-game series with the Astros at one victory apiece heading into the rubber match on Sunday in the finale of the unofficial first half for both teams.
“The last thing we wanted was to go into (Sunday) losing the first two,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said.
The Rangers won by recording 11 strikeouts against only one walk, an intentional pass issued by closer Kirby Yates to Yordan Alvarez with two outs in the bottom of the 10th. Texas left the bases loaded in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings of a tie game yet somehow persevered long enough to snap the Astros’ 10-game home winning streak.
“There was a lot of fight,” Bochy said. “The at-bats were tough; it looked like guys had trouble seeing the ball.
“But you keep going and you hope your pitching comes through and that’s what happened.”
Right-hander Max Scherzer (1-2, 3.09 ERA) will get the start for Texas in the series finale. It will mark the fifth start of the season for Scherzer, who opened the campaign on the 60-day injured list following offseason back surgery. After tossing five shutout innings at the Kansas City Royals in his season debut on June 23, Scherzer is winless over his last three starts with a 3.93 ERA and .788 OPS allowed.
Scherzer is 5-2 with a 3.84 ERA in 10 career appearances (nine starts) against Houston. He faced the Astros twice last season, going 1-1 with a 6.55 ERA while earning an 11-1 win with the New York Mets on June 19 before taking a 12-3 home loss with the Rangers on Sept. 6. In the latter game, he allowed seven runs on six hits — including three home runs — and two walks with four strikeouts over three innings.
Right-hander Ronel Blanco (9-3, 2.53 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Astros. He notched his 10th quality start against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday after allowing two runs on four hits and one walk with seven strikeouts over seven innings in a 4-3 victory. It marked the fifth time this season Blanco has worked at least seven innings. He is 5-0 with a 0.97 ERA in those starts.
Blanco is 2-0 with a 3.10 ERA over six career appearances (three starts) against the Rangers. He has faced Texas twice this season, going 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA over consecutive starts — including a 3-1 win on April 7 when he allowed one hit and four walks over six shutout innings.
The Astros remain in position to claim another series win, with a victory on Sunday, allowing Houston to complete an 18-5 close to the first half. The result in the middle game of the series wasn’t favorable, but it showcased exactly how the Astros have clawed back into contention.
“That’s the team that we’ve seen for many, many years,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “I really like our effort and the way we fought until the end. That’s the way you do it.”
–Field Level Media
