Rangers’ sixth straight loss is another beatdown by Astros
The first career home run for prospect Willie Calhoun quickly became an afterthought Wednesday afternoon after the Houston Astros scored seven runs in the sixth inning in another lopsided win over the Texas Rangers, this time 12-2.
The Rangers have been swept in consecutive three-game series and are assured of finishing the season with a sub-.500 record. The Rangers were outscored 37-7 by the American League West champs.
Calhoun took Justin Verlander out to right field in the second inning for his first big-league long ball. That cut the Astros’ lead to 2-1 early on, and Drew Robinson’s solo shot off Verlander in the fifth made it 4-2.
But the Astros piled on in the fifth against Nick Martinez and Tony Barnette, who surrendered a grand slam to George Springer and a two-run shot to Carlos Correa.
How Rangers pitchers fared: Nick Martinez wasn’t hit hard, save for Carlos Correa’s first homer of the game, but he was hit often. ... He allowed six runs in five-plus innings, though two scored in the sixth after Tony Barnette allowed two inherited runners to score. ... Barnette recorded one out in the sixth while allowing five runs. ... Austin Bibens-Dirkx allowed one run over 1 2/3 innings, and Keone Kela had the best inning by a Rangers pitcher with a 1-2-3 eighth. ... Jake Diekman followed suit in the ninth.
How Rangers hitters fared: Willie Calhoun won’t soon forget his days, as he connected for the first homer of his career and the first multi-hit game of his career. ... He, Elvis Andrus and Delino DeShields had two hits apiece. Andrus is batting .300 with four games remaining. ... Drew Robinson connected in the fifth for his sixth homer of the season. His and Calhoun’s distance blows came against Justin Verlander.
Jeff Wilson: 817-390-7760, @JeffWilson_FWST
Houston | 200 | 117 | 100 | — | 12 | 16 | 0 |
Texas | 010 | 010 | 000 | — | 2 | 8 | 1 |
Houston AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. | |
Springer rf | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .287 |
Fisher ph-rf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .207 |
Bregman 3b-2b | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .285 |
Altuve 2b | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .347 |
Davis ph-3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .228 |
Correa ss | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | .308 |
Gonzalez lf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .301 |
Moran ph-1b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
McCann c | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .240 |
Stassi c | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .182 |
Beltran dh | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .230 |
Gurriel 1b | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .297 |
White ph-1b-lf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .304 |
Kemp cf | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .226 |
Totals 43 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 2 | 5 | ||
Texas AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. | |
DeShields cf | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .274 |
Choo dh | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .260 |
Andrus ss | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .299 |
Gosselin 2b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .128 |
Mazara rf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .251 |
Gallo 1b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .207 |
Odor 2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .203 |
Middlebrooks 3b | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .229 |
Calhoun lf | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .158 |
Nicholas c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .280 |
Robinson 3b-2b-ss | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .213 |
Totals 33 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 12 | ||
E—Odor (18). LOB—Houston 6, Texas 4. 2B—Bregman (38), Correa (24), Gurriel (41), Middlebrooks (2). HR—Correa (22), off Martinez; Springer (34), off Barnette; Correa (23), off Barnette; Calhoun (1), off Verlander; Robinson (6), off Verlander. RBIs—Springer 4 (85), Bregman (66), Correa 4 (81), Gonzalez (87), Kemp 2 (3), Calhoun (2), Robinson (12). Runners left in scoring position—Houston 3 (Gonzalez, Beltran, Davis); Texas 1 (Gallo). RISP—Houston 5 for 11; Texas 0 for 2. GIDP—Springer, Choo. DP—Houston 1 (Bregman, Correa, Moran); Texas 1 (Robinson, Odor, Gallo).
Houston | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
Verlander, W 15-8 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 110 | 3.36 |
Liriano | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5.68 |
Gregerson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4.50 |
Sipp | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 5.84 |
Texas | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
Martinez, L 3-8 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 95 | 5.66 |
Barnette | 1/3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 5.49 |
Bibens-Dirkx | 1 2/3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 4.67 |
Kela | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 2.87 |
Diekman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 2.79 |
Martinez pitched to 2 batters in the 6th. Inherited runners-scored—Barnette 2-2. WP—Barnette. Umpires—Home, Chris Guccione; First, Dana DeMuth; Second, Paul Nauert; Third, Carlos Torres. T—3:17. A—26,053 (48,114).
This story was originally published September 27, 2017 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Rangers’ sixth straight loss is another beatdown by Astros."