Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros Box Score on May 22, 2022

Jose Urquidy pitched into the seventh inning and matched his career high for strikeouts while Jose Altuve clubbed his league-leading fifth leadoff home run as the Houston Astros claimed their four-game series against the visiting Texas Rangers with a 5-2 victory on Sunday.

Urquidy (4-1) was exceptional, allowing one run on six hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts over a season-high 6 2/3 innings, equaling his strikeout total against the Oakland Athletics on Sept. 11, 2019. He fanned at least one batter in every inning excluding the sixth and allowed just one extra-base hit, a leadoff home run to Rangers designated hitter Mitch Garver in the fifth inning.

Urquidy generated 20 swings and misses, 10 on 50 four-seam fastballs. He threw 98 pitches, 69 for strikes, and excluding the Garver homer, allowed just two baserunners to get into scoring position.

Altuve spotted the Astros a 1-0 lead with his ninth home run this season, driving a full-count fastball from Rangers left-hander Taylor Hearn (2-3) into the Crawford Boxes seats in left field. Hearn rebounded and retired seven consecutive batters before the Astros doubled their lead on an Alex Bregman run-scoring double that scored Altuve, who doubled, with one out in the third.

After Texas sliced the deficit in half on the Garver dinger, his fourth, the Astros responded with a two-spot in the fifth. Yordan Alvarez and Yuli Gurriel smacked consecutive two-out RBI doubles, with Alvarez plating Bregman from first base and chasing Hearn from the mound. Gurriel greeted Rangers reliever Brett Martin with a double to the right-center gap that scored Alvarez.

Hearn allowed four runs on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings.

Jeremy Pena delivered an RBI single to right field in the eighth off Rangers reliever Matt Moore that drove in Kyle Tucker from second. The Astros had five extra-base hits and finished 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Altuve went 2-for-4 for his seventh multi-hit game this month.

Brad Miller delivered a run-scoring single in the ninth inning off Astros closer Ryan Pressly, but pinch-hitter Jonah Heim rolled into a game-ending double play that squelched the rally. The Rangers have dropped 25 of their last 28 games in Houston and 16 of 20 to the Astros overall.

--Field Level Media