The Sports Xchange
Aug 30, 2017
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The good news is the Houston Astros are going home soon and only have one more game at Tropicana Field.
Displaced from their home by extensive flooding in Houston, the Astros took a second lopsided loss at the hands of the Texas Rangers, falling 8-1 on Wednesday in the second of three games in Florida while the Tampa Bay Rays are on the road.
Texas starter Andrew Cashner (8-9) was sharp, holding the Astros (79-53) to three hits and one run in eight innings. He struck out six without issuing a walk.
The Rangers (66-66) tagged Houston's Dallas Keuchel (11-3) for six runs in the fourth inning. Texas has earned back-to-back wins to remain in a logjam of contenders in the American League wild-card chase.
Mike Napoli's three-run home run in the fourth inning was the Rangers' 204th long ball this season, jumping them ahead of the Astros for the major league lead. Elvis Andrus, who had four hits on Tuesday, added three on Wednesday and is now 13-for-23 (.565) over the past five games.
Keuchel, who opened the season with a 9-0 record before missing 44 games with a neck injury, is now 2-3 since returning July 28. He had pitched well in his previous three starts, allowing just three earned runs in 20 2/3 innings for a 1.31 ERA.
The Astros came to St. Petersburg with the possibility of also hosting a three-game weekend series with the Mets, but the team announced before the Wednesday game that the games against New York would be played at Minute Maid Park.
After the series finale at Tropicana Field on Thursday, the Houston players will return home for the first time since Aug. 24, before much of the flooding had impacted Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. The Astros and Mets will play a doubleheader Saturday afternoon and evening, then finish the series Sunday afternoon.
Tuesday's neutral-site game, played with $10 general admission seats on the lower level with all proceeds going to Texas relief efforts, drew an announced crowd of 3,485 fans, and Wednesday's was even bigger, with attendance announced as 6,123. Texas and Houston will play again Thursday to wrap up the three-game series, with the Astros returning home and the Rangers also going back to Texas for a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.
The Rangers are now 5-0 at Tropicana Field this year, with a three-game sweep of the Rays in July plus these two wins against the Astros.
Keuchel retired the first 10 batters he faced in order, then abruptly hit a wall in the fourth inning.
Keuchel gave up a single to Andrus and a double to Nomar Mazara, then issued a walk to Adrian Beltre to load the bases with one out. Gallo walked to tie the score at 1 and Carlos Gomez, mired in a 1-for-19 slump, hit a two-run single for a 3-1 lead.
Napoli, himself in an 0-for-18 slump, hit a three-run homer to left-center field -- his 28th home run of the season -- for a 6-1 lead.
Houston was able to string two hits together for an early lead. Yuri Gurriel doubled in the second, advanced on Brian McCann's single and scored on Carlos Beltran's sacrifice fly to deep left for a 1-0 lead.
Gurriel left the game two innings due to right knee soreness. He struggled running the bases after his double, only taking third on McCann's single.
The Rangers added two runs in the ninth inning when Andrus doubled to score Shin-Soo Choo, who had also doubled. Andrus scored on Joey Gallo's RBI single.
NOTES: Texas' 12 runs on Tuesday night were the Rangers' most in a road game since May 2015, when they had 15 in a game at the New York Yankees. ... The Rangers entered the game with a. 224 road batting average, worst in the majors, but they posted double-digit hits for the second straight night. ... With back-to-back wins, the Rangers are now 7-8 this year against the Astros in the "Lone Star Series," which awards a Silver Boot to each year's series winner. The teams also have a series at Arlington, Texas, from Sept. 25-27.