ASTROS BEAT RANGERS
Tucker, Altuve combine for 5 RBIs as Astros down Rangers
Apr 14, 2024, 11:17 am
Astros defeat the Rangers, 9-2. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.
Kyle Tucker doubled twice and had three RBIs and Jose Altuve added three hits and drove in two runs as the Houston Astros used a seven-run seventh inning to break a tie and coast to a 9-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday.
The Astros snapped a four-game skid and bounced back after allowing the Rangers to score their season high in a 12-8 win in the series opener.
Altuve said he hopes this game can help get the Astros on a roll after their early struggles.
“We as a team are very confident... this is the kind of team we are, we have done it before,” Altuve said. “I don't see why we can't start doing it again.”
It was tied at 2 and the bases were loaded with one out in the seventh when pinch-hitter Victor Caratini’s RBI single to right field off José Ureña (0-1) put the Astros on top.
Altuve followed with a double to the corner of left field to send two more home and push the lead to 5-2. Austin Pruitt took over and intentionally walked Yordan Alvarez before Tucker doubled to center field to score two more.
Houston made it 9-2 when Alvarez scored on a sacrifice fly by Yainer Diaz.
“That was great,” manager Joe Espada said. “That’s the offense that I’m used to seeing. When we get pitchers against the ropes, we've got to put them away and that’s exactly what we did today.”
Ronel Blanco, who threw a no-hitter in his season debut and pitched six scoreless innings Sunday, gave the Astros another solid start Saturday. He gave up two runs in the first inning before settling down to pitch five scoreless frames. He allowed five singles with three walks and five strikeouts.
It was a much-needed performance after Houston’s starters had allowed 31 earned runs with a 20.93 ERA across 13 1/3 innings in the last five games.
“It started with Blanco,” Espada said. “He set the stage and then our offense got some big hits.”
Texas starter Andrew Heaney yielded four hits and two runs while walking four in 3 2/3 innings.
“I’m fighting myself a little bit right now, mechanically, mentally, just having a hard time getting some traction, getting going,” he said. "So I’m just going to keep working.”
The Rangers loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, but Bryan Abreu (1-1) struck out Evan Carter to escape the jam before Houston took the lead in the bottom of the inning.
Rookie Wyatt Langford had two hits and an RBI for Texas and Adolis García added two hits.
Houston’s José Abreu, who is hitting just .122 this season, had two hits with a double for his first multi-hit game this season and his first extra base hit of the year.
Blanco walked Evan Carter and García with two outs in the first before giving up his first run of the season on an RBI single by Josh Smith. Langford followed with a run-scoring single to push the lead to 2-0.
Abreu opened the fourth with a double and moved to third on a groundout by Jake Meyers before scoring on a groundout by Mauricio Dubón to cut the lead to 2-1.
Heaney then hit Altuve and Alvarez with pitches and was lifted for Jacob Latz. Tucker lined a double into center field to score Altuve and tie it at 2-2.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: LHP Brock Burke was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday after breaking his right hand punching a wall after a poor outing Friday night. … Pruitt had his contract selected from Triple-A Round Rock to take his spot on the roster. … INF Justin Foscue (left oblique strain) was transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day list.
Astros: 3B Alex Bregman missed a second straight game with flu-like symptoms. … RHP Shawn Dubin (forearm strain) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list Saturday to take the spot of RHP Joel Kuhnel, who was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land.
UP NEXT
Texas RHP Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 1.45 ERA) opposes RHP Cristian Javier (1-0, 1.10) in the series finale Sunday.
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A.J. Hinch led Houston to a championship in 2017, and the last time he managed a postseason game it was the Astros’ loss in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series.
The following January he was suspended for a year by Major League Baseball and fired the same day for his role in Houston’s sign-stealing scandal.
Hinch returns to the playoffs Tuesday with the Detroit Tigers in their first postseason appearance in a decade when they face the AL West champion Astros in Game 1 of a best-of-three Wild Card Series. Detroit ace Tarik Skubal (18-4, 2.39 ERA) opposes fellow left-hander Framber Valdez (15-7, 2.91) in the opener.
Hinch, who has managed the Tigers since 2021, insists this series is not about his redemption.
“I’m not proud of the story to get here,” Hinch said Monday before the Tigers worked out at Minute Maid Park. “I’ve owned up to that and I will continue to do that. I’m very sorry for how it all went down. But all I had was the next opportunity to try to make it better and try to do my part to make this happen as fast as possible for the Detroit Tigers.”
“And that group that’s in the clubhouse over there waiting to go work out has worked tirelessly to get to feel this feeling,” he continued.
The Tigers were 10 games out of the last AL wild-card spot on Aug. 10 before going 31-13 the rest of the way to punch their ticket to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Now, they’ll face a playoff-tested Houston team that's in the postseason for an eighth straight year. Detroit outfielder Riley Greene believes the Tigers' path to this point will help them this week.
“I feel like we’ve been playing playoff baseball since August,” he said. “We’re young and all we really want to do is win and we’re doing whatever we can to win.”
The Astros also had a difficult path to the playoffs this season. Houston overcame a 7-19 start to win its fourth straight AL West title and its seventh in eight years, only falling short during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Hinch and Astros manager Joe Espada share a close bond after Hinch hired Espada as his bench coach in Houston before the 2018 season. Espada is in his first season as manager after Dusty Baker’s retirement.
“I’m actually looking forward to it,” Espada said. “He’s a good friend. We have spent a lot of time together. I’ve learned a ton from A.J., but I think this series is about the Astros against the Tigers.”
Valdez’s Mental Growth
Valdez is looking for a much better postseason this year after he lost each of his three playoff starts last season while giving up a combined 19 hits and 12 earned runs.
The 30-year-old has worked on improving his mental toughness over the past few years with the help of Dr. Andy Nunez, a psychologist in the Astros organization.
“With Dr. Andy, I’ve talked to him almost every day, whether it’s on the phone, whether before a game, after a game, even if I’m not playing, I try to take the moment and talk to him,” Valdez said in Spanish through a translator. “We talk about life, try to talk about the mental aspect of it, how to handle certain situations … (and) I try to take that advice and make the most of it.”
Espada has been impressed with the growth of Valdez since his rookie season in 2018.
“I’ve seen this young kid that got up here in the big leagues a long time ago really mature both personally and on the mound,” Espada said.
Skubal’s Crown
Skubal, who had 228 strikeouts to go with his 18 wins and 2.39 ERA, became the first American Leaguer to win the pitching Triple Crown since Cleveland’s Shane Bieber did it in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and the first in a full season since Justin Verlander in 2011.
The likely AL Cy Young Award winner is looking forward to his playoff debut.
“It means a lot to have the confidence from A.J. and the organization, and I’m going to roll out there (Tuesday) and do my best to put our team in position to win,” he said.
The 27-year-old Skubal has faced Houston twice this season with a win and a loss. But both starts were early in the season, with the last one coming on June 14.
After the Tigers use their ace in Game 1, don’t expect to see any Detroit pitcher for more than two or three innings for the rest of the series.
“Our plan, to give you a brief overview, is Tarik Skubal (on Tuesday) and pitching chaos the rest of the way, which is kind of how it’s been the last two months,” Hinch said.
Availability of Alvarez
The Astros are waiting to see if outfielder/designated hitter Yordan Alvarez can play this week. He’s been out since spraining his right knee on a slide Sept. 22.
Espada said Monday that Alvarez would hit in the cage and run on the field and the team would determine his availability after that.
Alvarez led the Astros with a .305 batting average, 35 homers and 86 RBIs this season.