Houston's winning streak snapped
Astros crushed by Rangers as Houston comes up short of the sweep
Aug 29, 2021, 4:52 pm
The Astros had a forgettable day in Arlington on Sunday after getting handed a lopsided loss by the Rangers. Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
The Astros had a forgettable day in Arlington on Sunday after getting handed a lopsided loss by the Rangers.
Having secured the series victory already, the Astros tried to extend their winning streak to five games on Sunday against the Rangers if they could finish the three-game sweep. Instead, a slow start by their offense, along with a terrible day on the mound, allowed the Rangers to salvage a game and snap Houston's winning streak.
Final Score: Rangers 13, Astros 2
Astros' Record: 77-53, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Taylor Hearn (4-4)
Losing Pitcher: Zack Greinke (11-5)
Greinke doesn't have it
Zack Greinke would have a start to forget, which became apparent in the bottom of the first inning. The Rangers jumped out a 3-0 lead that frame, tagging him with three straight singles to start the inning, the third bringing in a run, followed by a sac fly and RBI double before Greinke could get out of it.
He rebounded with a scoreless second but allowed another run in the third, watching a leadoff double score on a sac fly later in the frame, making it 4-0. He dealt with another lengthy inning in the bottom of the fourth, allowing a leadoff double then a one-out RBI double to make it 5-0. He finished the fourth, then tried to continue in the fifth, but a leadoff solo homer would end his day: 4.0 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 76 P.
Rangers keep pouring it on
García grand slam.
The @Rangers have put up 12 runs, and it's only the 5th inning. pic.twitter.com/TxVBhlCzL7
— MLB (@MLB) August 29, 2021
The Astros, who went without a baserunner in the first four innings, tried to get back into it in the top of the fifth, putting together a two-run inning on a solo homer by Yordan Alvarez and RBI double by Jake Meyers. The Rangers would quickly push things back out of reach, though, as after Greinke exited with no outs in the bottom of the inning, Bryan Abreu would come in and have a disastrous appearance.
He struggled mightily, allowing two RBI singles and leaving the bases loaded for Adolis Garcia, who made it a ten-run lead with a grand slam. Blake Taylor would enter to finish the frame, but not before allowing Abreu's seventh earned run to make it 13-2. Taylor remained on the mound in the bottom of the sixth, working around an error for a scoreless inning.
Astros drop lopsided finale
Phil Maton was Houston's next reliever, coming in for the bottom of the seventh, which he would complete without allowing any more damage. The final pitcher on the afternoon was Brooks Raley, who tossed Houston's only 1-2-3 inning of the day. The Astros would not get the miraculous rally in the top of the ninth, instead going down scoreless as the Rangers finished the win to avoid the sweep.
Up Next: The Astros will travel to Seattle on Sunday evening before picking up a three-game set with the Mariners on Monday at 9:10 PM Central. In the opener, the expected pitching matchup is Luis Garcia (10-6, 3.21 ERA) for Houston and Chris Flexen (11-5, 3.54 ERA) for Seattle.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Dusty Baker has won the fourth Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Baseball Digest.
The beloved Baker retired following the 2023 season after spending 56 years in the majors as a player, coach and manager. He was honored Thursday with an annual distinction that “recognizes a living individual whose career has been spent in or around Major League Baseball and who has made significant contributions to the game.”
Willie Mays won the inaugural award in 2021, followed by Vin Scully in 2022 and Joe Torre last year.
“Receiving this award is a tremendous honor,” Baker said in a news release. “I never thought that I’d be in the class of the people that received this award. I know that my late mom and dad would be proud of me. This is really special.”
The 74-year-old Baker broke into the big leagues as a teenager with the Atlanta Braves in 1968 and played 19 seasons. He made two All-Star teams, won two Silver Slugger awards and earned a Gold Glove in the outfield.
He was the 1977 NL Championship Series MVP and finished fourth in 1980 NL MVP voting before helping the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 1981 World Series.
Following his playing career, Baker was a coach for the San Francisco Giants from 1988-92 and then became their manager in 1993. He won the first of his three NL Manager of the Year awards with the Giants that season and spent 26 years as a big league skipper, also guiding the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals and Houston Astros.
Baker took all those teams to the playoffs, winning 10 division crowns, three pennants and finally a World Series championship in 2022 with the Astros. He ranks seventh on the career list with 2,183 wins and is the only manager in major league history to lead five franchises to division titles.
In January, he returned to the Giants as a special adviser to baseball operations. Baker's former team is 7-18 under new Astros manager Joe Espada.
“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I am honored to congratulate Dusty Baker as the 2024 recipient of Baseball Digest’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He joins an incredible club," Commissioner Rob Manfred said. "Dusty represents leadership, goodwill, and winning baseball. His ability to connect with others, across generations, is second to none. He is a championship manager and player. But, most importantly, Dusty is an extraordinary ambassador for our national pastime.”
Baker was selected in voting by an 18-member panel from a list of candidates that also included Bob Costas, Sandy Koufax, Tony La Russa, Jim Leyland, Rachel Robinson and Bud Selig, among others.