Astros get shutout and drop series to Rangers
Astros daily report: Rangers 4, Astros 0
Apr 3, 2019, 9:47 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Houston faced the Rangers on Wednesday night with the winner taking the series win. Here's how it went:
Final Score: Rangers 4, Astros 0
Record: 2-5, fourth in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Mike Minor (1-1).
Losing pitcher: Gerrit Cole (0-2).
Star of the game: There wasn't a true star in this game for the Astros considering the bad night, but Jose Altuve did get his second multi-hit game of the year, going two for four with a couple of singles.
Notes: It was the Rangers who struck first in the game, getting a couple of hits off of Gerrit Cole in the bottom of the first to grab an early 1-0 lead. A few egregious pitch calls that went against the Astros stirred some arguments in the second inning, resulting in A.J. Hinch being ejected from the game. After rebounding well from the early run in the next couple of innings, Cole would give up a few more hits in the fourth, expanding the Rangers' lead to 3-0 before his night ended at six innings, with the three runs allowed to go with nine strikeouts. Josh James would come in from the bullpen, looking great overall but allowed a solo homer to add on to the Rangers lead at 4-0. After continued poor calls at the plate, Houston would be unable to get anything going offensively, getting shutout the first time this year, dropping the series 2-1.
Up next: The Astros get their first day off in the early season on Thursday, a chance to regroup and turn things around in front of their home crowd in their home opener. First pitch in Friday night's series opener with the A's will be at 7:10 PM and will pit starter Collin McHugh for Houston against Frankie Montas for Oakland.
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
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