Rangers reaction on a night Dallas Keuchel showed Cy Young swagger

The Rangers took it on the chin Friday night against the Astros. Dallas Keuchel turned around a losing trend against Texas to record a dominating complete-game 5-0 win. He hadn’t beaten the Rangers in three previous starts in 2016. It’s the fiirst time Texas has been shut out since July 15 in Chicago against the Cubs.

Since a vocal minority were in an uproar over the Rangers’ lineup Friday, especially with the fact that catcher Jonathan Lucroy was given a day off to “decompress, ” as manager Jeff Banister put it, let me give you some good news. He’ll be in the lineup Saturday and Sunday. He’ll be the every day catcher in the truest sense of the word. Also, it’s highly likely Nomar Mazara and Jurickson Profar will also be back in the lineup against right-hander Doug Fister. Former Astro Lucas Harrell makes his second start for the Rangers. The Rangers still have a  5 1/2 game lead on the Astros but the screws could tighten if Houston take the first two.

Here are three thoughts from Friday’s 5-0 loss:

1. Keuchel in command — For once, Dallas Keuchel was in command against the Rangers. After a shaky first inning in which he surrendered two hits and a walk, Keuchel held the Rangers hitless for the next seven innings. He retired 26 of the final 28 batters. It’s his first win against the Rangers in 2016

“He was keeping the ball low and we were helping him a little bit chasing,” Adrian Beltre said. “We just fell into his plan and he had pretty good stuff today. He looked like the same guy who won the Cy Young last year.”

2. Beltre, Beltran double vision — The old veterans on the roster added to their Hall of Fame resumes again Friday night. Each had a double —Beltran in the first and Beltre in the ninth. Beltran moved into a tie with Dave Parker for No. 42 all-time with 526 doubles. He needs two more to tie Frank Robinson at No. 41 and eight to tie Lou Gehrig at 39th all-time. Beltre snapped a tie with Wade Boggs to take sole ownership of 22nd all-time with his 579th double. He’s four shy of tying Robin Yount at No. 20 all-time. Beltran talked about surpassing some of the greats of the game before Friday’s opener, including tying Mickey Mantle for 55th all-time with1,509 RBIs.

“The fact that I tied him or passed him in something is a great compliment. I’m proud of my career, I’m proud of the work I’ve put in to the game of baseball to be the player that I am,” he said. “I’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs as a ball player but the fact that I’m still here competing. This is the game that I love. The passion I have for the game of baseball is off the charts.”

3. Perplexing Perez — The one-inning meltdown continues to plague Martin Perez. It happened again Friday as the Astros scored four in the third inning. Other than that, Perez pitched well over seven innings. The big inning has been an issue for Perez. In eight of his 23 starts, he’s allowed three or more runs in an inning. In six of those outings, including Friday, Perez walked at least one batter to set up the big inning. Friday night, he walked Alex Bregman with one out on five pitches to bring up Jose Altuve, who doubled in the first run.

Here’s a look at Perez’s big innings in 2016:

This story was originally published August 6, 2016 at 2:27 AM with the headline "Rangers reaction on a night Dallas Keuchel showed Cy Young swagger."