ASTROS DEFEAT RANGERS
Blanco follows no-hitter with six 1-hit innings as Astros beat Rangers
Apr 8, 2024, 9:01 am
Blanco had another terrific start. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images.
Houston right-hander Ronel Blanco followed his no-hitter with one-hit ball over six scoreless innings, and the Astros beat the Texas Rangers 3-1 on Sunday night.
Six nights after throwing a no-hitter at home against Toronto in his first start of the season, Blanco held the World Series champs without a hit until Adolis García grounded a clean single up the middle with two outs in the sixth. Blanco (2-0) then retired Evan Carter on a flyball and was done after 90 pitches.
“He’s throwing an invisi-ball right now. I mean, nobody can hit it. I mean literally,” Houston reliever Ryan Pressly said.
“I’m a believer that all the hard work that you do is going to pay off at some time or another,” the 30-year-old Blanco said through a translator after his ninth career big league start. “So not really surprised with these things that are happening in my career.”
Yordan Alvarez hit a three-run homer for the Astros, his shot in the third coming right after Dane Dunning (1-1) had issued consecutive walks. It was the third homer of the season for Alvarez.
Yordan with the hard launch😤 pic.twitter.com/HWuuCEtSId
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 7, 2024
Rafael Montero was already warming up in the bullpen while Blanco was pitching in the sixth. Montero then pitched the seventh, and Pressly got three outs. Josh Hader handled the ninth on his 30th birthday for his first save since joining the Astros in free agency on a $95 million, five-year contract.
García drew a one-out walk from Hader, advanced on a wild pitch, and stopped Houston's bid for its third shutout this season when he scored on Justin Foscue's pinch-hit single for his first big league hit.
The Astros are still off to a 3-7 start, matching their worst since 2-8 in 2011, the first of three consecutive 100-loss seasons.
AL West-leading Texas (6-3) had its three-game winning streak snapped.
The Rangers had 31 hits in the first two games of the series, and for the first time since 2018 had back-to-back games in which every batter in their starting lineup had a hit.
They didn't get any off Blanco until the single by García that ended a long-shot bid to join Johnny Vander Meer for the Cincinnati Reds in 1938 with no-hitters in consecutive starts.
“The pitch was way off the plate. ... Obviously he was able to make contact and I have to tip my hat to him,” Blanco said. “He was able to make contact on a very tough pitch.”
Blanco struck out four and walked four against Texas after issuing two walks in his 105-pitch effort Monday. He has thrown 15 scoreless innings this season while allowing one hit.
“He's got great stuff. Coming off a no-hitter, carried that into tonight’s game,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “Pitched great, just shut us down. ... Pretty impressive really the run he's gotten on here the first two games of the season.”
Dunning struck out seven and walked three in his 6 2/3 innings.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros: RHP Justin Verlander allowed six earned runs and struck out six in pitching into the fourth inning of his first injury rehabilitation start with Triple-A Sugar Land. Verlander began this season on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder. The 41-year-old, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, said he accomplished his No. 1 goal of throwing 65 pitches and feeling healthy.
Rangers: Right-handed reliever Josh Sborz was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right rotator cuff strain, a day after he felt pain in his shoulder while pitching the eighth inning.
UP NEXT
It's a matchup of left-handed starters in the series finale Monday night, with Framber Valdez (0-0, 2.19 ERA) for the Astros and Andrew Heaney (0-1, 1.93 ERA) for Texas.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
NFL insiders hint at eye-opening future for Houston Texans offense
Dec 7, 2024, 2:38 pm
C.J. Stroud faced criticism in Houston's last few games as the Texans hit a rough patch after losing just two of their first eight games.
But the second-year quarterback remained confident and his strong performance last Sunday helped the Texans (8-5) to a 23-20 win over the Jaguars to enter their bye with a two-game lead atop the AFC South.
“When he is leading and playing the way he is playing, our entire team feeds off of him,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “I am excited for his second year. I think he is showing a ton of growth, he is in a really great spot for us physically, mentally. I really love where he is and I am excited to see how he comes back after the break.”
Stroud threw for 242 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville to leave him ranked fourth in the NFL with 3,117 yards passing this season. That game came after he threw two interceptions in a 32-27 loss to Tennessee a week before for the team’s third loss in four games.
Those two interceptions brought his season total to nine, which are four more than he threw in 15 games a rookie. But the Texans aren’t worried about that statistic and believe he has grown in his second year.
“He’s made a lot of progress,” general manager Nick Caserio said. “There are some plays, like all of our players, that we probably wish he could have back, but happy he’s our quarterback, happy with what he brings to the table. ... Wouldn’t want anyone else leading this team.”
The Texans are in position to win their division for a second straight season despite dealing with several significant injuries on offense. Running back Joe Mixon missed three games early with an ankle injury and leading receiver Nico Collins was sidelined for five games with a hamstring injury.
They also lost four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs for the season when tore an ACL in Week 8.
Mixon leads the team with 887 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns and has added four touchdown receptions. His work in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati has helped the team deal with those significant injuries to the receiving corps.
Mixon ranks third in the NFL by averaging 88.7 yards rushing a game and has had at least 100 yards rushing in seven games.
Stroud has continually raved about Mixon’s contributions on and off the field.
“He’s a servant, a helper,” Stroud said. “That’s ultimately what I want to be as well. Who can I serve and how can I help? That’s ultimately what the game of football is.”
While Mixon has been the team’s most important new acquisition on offense, Danielle Hunter has been Houston’s new defensive star. The defensive end spent his first eight seasons in Minnesota before joining the Texans this year.
He has helped Houston lead the NFL with 84 tackles for loss after piling up 15 this season, which is tied for third most in the league. He also leads the Texans with 10½ sacks to help them rank second with 42.
Hunter been a great addition to a team that already had defensive end Will Anderson Jr., last year’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. Anderson ranks second to Hunter on the team with 13 tackles for loss and 9½ sacks.
Ryans said this week’s break is much needed for a team that opened the preseason on Aug. 1 in the Hall of Fame game.
“It’s here and we’re going to take advantage of it,” he said. “We’ve been going at it for a long time.”
The Texans need to recharge this week with a brutal stretch of three games in 10 days when they return from their bye. Houston hosts Miami on Dec. 15 before a trip to Kansas City on Dec. 21 and a visit from the Ravens on Christmas Day.
“It’s Christmas and all that, but we can’t worry about that. All we can do is focus on Miami,” Caserio said. “And then when we get through the Miami game, then we kind of turn the page to the next. ... We’re either going to earn it or we’re not. Not to oversimplify it, but that’s the truth.”
The Texans will play those game without starting linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair after he received a three-game suspension for his violent hit to the head of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, which led to a concussion.
Al-Shaair will be eligible to return for Houston’s regular-season finale against Tennessee.