Coming into Friday Night, the Astros needed just two wins to capture their 10th consecutive Silver Boot Series from the Rangers. They still need two wins. Rangers 7 Astros 3.
On this night, Wyatt Langford would be the hero, albeit late. In the 8th, Langford would deposit the second pitch offered by reliever Bryan King into the left field seats, breaking a deadlocked 3-3 affair. Jake Burger would follow that up with his 16th blast of the season and just like that, King would allow 4 runs in a dreadful
showing.
Aside from King’s errant outing, the focus lies front and center on Hunter Brown. In short, Brown isn’t right. The evidence continues to mount, from a 23-pitch opening inning to the issuing of lead off walks time and time again. The “ace” who was once dominant is now struggling with mechanics and attacking the zone. At one point in the fourth inning, Brown would scrap the wind up completely and actually deliver from the stretch to multiple batters. It would mark Brown’s fifth start since returning from a shoulder strain and now the question is “if” the mound dominance which placed him third in last year’s Cy Young Award voting will ever return this season full throttle. Brown’s final stat line would read: 6 IP, 4H 3 ER 5 BB and 4 K’s.
The five walks would tie a career high.
The Rangers would start the scoring, putting up a pair of runs in the first. Brandon Nimmo’s double would score Wyatt Langford. Josh Jung would cross home plate shortly thereafter.
Joc Pederson would homer off Brown in the bottom of the 5th. For Pederson, it would be the fourth time this season that he’d leave the yard against Astros pitching. Pederson’s solo shot made it 3-0. However, the Astros would respond. Yordan Alvarez would finally get Houston on the board with his 200th career home run to center field in the 6th. It would travel 455 feet and make the score 3-1. Yainer Diaz would do one better, bringing home LaMonte Wade Jr. the next inning with his 6th HR of the year, which at the time tied things up 3-3. That would be the score, until the 8th when the Rangers did their final damage.
The Astros have now dropped 50 games on the season and 3 of 4 on this current road trip.
Odds & Ends:
Jeremy Pena returned from the IL and led off the game and reached safely his first AB.
Alvarez’s home run on Friday Night traveled the longest distance of any he’s hit this year. He now has 7 home runs off Rangers pitching this season.
Peter Lambert will take the hill Saturday Night with a mark of 7-5. He’ll be opposed by Kumar Rocker, who will be seeking just his third win of the season. First pitch is set for 6:05 CDT.
