55-56 – Rangers back below .500 with 5-4 loss to Astros

The Texas Rangers scored four runs but the Houston Astros scored five runs.

Other than the fact that the Rangers didn’t ultimately end up losing by like ten runs, this was a pretty familiar contest. The Rangers let a first inning rally go to waste without scoring and then Houston got on the board first with a two-out rally from the bottom of their lineup in the second.

Wyatt Langford tied the game with a Crawford Boxes special solo home run, but Houston again produced an extended rally that saw them collect two more two-out runs. Unlike last night, the Rangers had some fight in them as they tied the game 3-3 in the top of the fourth but Houston again produced a couple of runs in the bottom of the inning to knock out starter Jacob deGrom.

The Rangers got the final run of the game via a solo Elias Diaz home run in the top of the sixth, but they couldn’t get the next run to even the score and have now lost this series with a game to play tomorrow. Oh yeah, and they’re below .500 again after losing their fourth game in a row.

Player of the Game: Lefty reliever Tyler Alexander tossed two scoreless frames in the middle innings to settle the game down and give the Rangers a shot at mounting a comeback. The Rangers did not pull it off but Alexander was essentially the most successful pitcher that Texas has sent out there so far in this series.

Up Next: The Rangers will send RHP Kumar Rocker to the mound hoping to avoid getting swept against RHP Peter Lambert for Houston.

The Sunday afternoon series finale first pitch from Daikin Park is scheduled for 1:10 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.