ARLINGTON — Realistically, if the Texas Rangers wanted to keep themselves afloat in the American League Wild Card race, they needed to do something this weekend that they hadn’t done in over four years.
Take a series from the Houston Astros.
At home.
Done and done.
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The Rangers beat the Astros 4-2 at Globe Life Field Sunday afternoon to clinch a crucial series win behind a strong start from left-hander Patrick Corbin, a timely spark from right fielder Cody Freeman and a big swing from first baseman Jake Burger.
Texas, now 74-70, has not lost a series vs. the Astros this year. They split a four-game series vs. their rivals at Globe Life Field in May and won two of three at Daikin Park in June. The two teams will play once more this season Sep. 15-17 in Houston. The Rangers need to win one of those games to clinch their first regular season Lone Star Series win in nine years.
It marked the club’s first home series win vs. the Astros since May 21-23, 2021.
Freeman — an energetic rookie who’s provided an emotional spark since he was called up for a second time on July 18 — slapped a below-the-zone Framber Valdez curveball into left field for a two-out single in the sixth. He scrambled around the bases to score the go-ahead run on a Josh Jung double in the next at bat. Burger, who homered in Friday’s win, then drilled a middle-middle Valdez changeup into the right field seats to give the Rangers a 4-1 lead.
Valdez, one of baseball’s top left-handed pitchers, had a 2.73 ERA in his first 19 career starts against the Rangers and had only allowed four or more runs in two of them. The one run he allowed prior to the sixth inning Sunday came when second baseman Dylan Moore (who singled and stole second base) scored on a dropped third strike that resulted in an error from Houston first baseman Christian Walker in the second inning.
Corbin held the Astros hitless through 4 1/3 innings before Houston’s Jake Meyers singled up the middle with one out in the fifth. He allowed hits on consecutive pitches to start the sixth and surrendered the lead. Nine-hole hitter Mauricio Dubón doubled off of a middle-middle sinker to lead off the inning and scored on a first-pitch Jeremy Peña single in the next at-bat.
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