 before Altuve drove a ball into the left-center gap for his fourth hit. Straw, who got picked off to end the ninth after entering the game as a pinch-runner for All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley, made up for that miscue with his hit after the Rangers intentionally walked Alex Bregman.''You want to redeem yourself, and to get out there and get that, that insurance run. Obviously we needed it. ... It was awesome,'' Straw said.Texas had won Friday night on Danny Santana's game-ending RBI liner to center that tipped off the end of Springer's glove while he made a full-out diving try to catch it.Shin-Soo Choo marked his 37th birthday with a leadoff homer for the Rangers, but he got stranded at second base in the 10th after he drew a one-out walk and went to second on a wild pitch by Josh James (4-0).Roberto Osuna worked the 11th for his 20th save in 23 chances, even though Nomar Mazara had a leadoff double and came home on two-out infield single by Delino DeShields. Santana struck out before Elvis Andrus flew out to center.Stitched-up All-Star infielder Bregman homered in his return to Houston's lineup.''It was a great win,'' Bregman said. ''Great team effort, everybody contributed from top to bottom.'' Bregman needed four stitches on his chin and had to clear concussion protocol after getting hit by a groundball that took a nasty hop when he was playing shortstop in the third inning of the series opener Thursday. Bregman didn't play Friday.Bregman's 24th homer was a game-tying solo shot in the fifth right after Altuve was thrown out trying to stretch his hit to left into a double. All-Star outfielder Joey Gallo got his eighth outfield assist and second baseman Santana did a nice job on the tag while keeping Altuve from the bag.`'We could easily talk about missed opportunities or mistakes, but we hung in there and I'm proud of our guys for being able to just get through the game and get a win, in a game where we didn't play our best,'' manager AJ Hinch said. ''Perseverance went a long way tonight.'' FOR STARTERSAll-Star lefty Mike Minor, making his first start for the Rangers in 11 days, struck out seven in five innings. But he allowed four runs on six hits and three walks.''I feel like there are lapses in there in focus or something,'' Minor said. ''I am not throwing the put-away pitch. I feel like I served them up a little bit tonight. I hate feeling like this.'' Houston scored twice in the first, but Astros left-hander Wade Miley quickly surrendered that lead when Choo and Santana had back-to-back homers. But he made it into the seventh before DeShields went deep to tie the game at 5. Miley gave up only four hits, those three solo homers and a double to Santana.SHORT HOPSTexas also got two unearned runs to go ahead 4-3 in the third when the Astros made three errors. They had made three errors in a game only once in their first 92 games, and they hadn't had three errors in an inning since May 2013. ... Houston is 8-1 in extra innings this season. The Rangers are 4-5. ... Choo is the third Rangers player this season to homer on his birthday, following Jeff Mathis and Mazara.TRAINER'S ROOMAstros: SS Carlos Correa, on the IL since May 27 because of a fractured rib, is expected to join Triple-A Round Rock to begin a rehab assignment as early as Monday. ... RHP Brad Peacock, out since June 28 with right shoulder discomfort, threw a bullpen Friday and is penciled in to start for the Astros on Monday at the Los Angeles Angels. ... INF Aledmys Diaz (left hamstring strain) ran the bases before Saturday's game, and is set to start a rehab assignment with Round Rock on Monday.UP NEXTAL All-Star starter Justin Verlander (10-4, 2.98) makes his first start for the Astros since July 5 in the series finale. Ariel Jurado (5-4, 4.23) is set to go for the Rangers.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Rangers seek sweep of Astros as Smith returnsFLMIn the hours immediately after the Houston Astros activated reliever Joe Smith from the 60-day injured list, their bullpen surrendered five runs over three innings in a fall-from-ahead loss in Arlington, Texas, that showcased a measure of need for the side-arming, veteran right-hander.Smith, sidelined by offseason surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered last December, could return Saturday against the Texas Rangers, providing the Astros additional depth in a bullpen that has been stretched thin in part by an inconsistent back end of the rotation.In Smith, the Astros welcome back a specialist who enables them to target specific pockets of hitters. Houston has suffered some wear with its relievers, with right-handers Will Harris and Hector Rondon surrendering two runs each in the Astros' 9-8 loss to the Rangers on Friday.Smith finished 5-1 with a 3.74 ERA over 56 appearances last season, his first with the Astros."I consider him a weapon," Astros manager AJ Hinch told MLB.com. "He's really tough on right-handed hitters. He's been able to be better in the last couple of years against lefties than he has traditionally in his career. I like that part of it." Left-hander and All-Star Wade Miley (7-4, 3.28 ERA) will start for the Astros on Saturday. Houston is only 5-4 over his last nine starts despite Miley posting a 3.04 ERA during that span.Miley is 3-5 with a 5.56 ERA over 10 career starts against the Rangers, recording a 4-2 win against them at Minute Maid Park on May 9 after allowing two runs on two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over six innings.All-Star left-hander Mike Minor (8-4, 2.54) will work opposite Miley as the Rangers attempt to clinch the four-game series. Minor is 3-0 with a 2.18 ERA over his last six starts, limiting opposing batters to a .174 average.He is 3-3 with a 4.26 ERA over 13 career appearances (10 starts) against the Astros, including a 1-1 mark and 2.25 ERA over two starts this season.The Rangers claimed the second game of their four-game set with the Astros by showcasing most of what has made them a surprise team in the American League. After each of their starters recorded at least one hit in the series opener, the Rangers bashed five home runs against Houston pitching to win Friday, including one each in the seventh and eighth innings.When Texas needed to manufacture a run against Houston closer Roberto Osuna, they parlayed an Elvis Andrus single and stolen base plus a bloop single from Danny Santana into a walk-off victory.Texas stands poised to win all three home series against the Astros this season with one more victory this weekend, doing so with a flair that is unmistakable."They threw out their big guns against us, and we seemed to pressure all of them," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. "It just shows the versatility of our team. We do have a lot of power. When we need speed we obviously have a lot of stolen bases. It's cool to be able to beat teams in so many different ways."It says a lot about our guys. Everybody on our roster feels like they're going to contribute." --Field Level Media
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