Houston takes both games over the Rangers

Astros homer their way to mini-sweep over Rangers

Chas McCormick had a big night with two homers against the Rangers. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

After winning dramatically in the opener of this short two-game series with the Rangers, the Astros tried to complete the sweep on Wednesday night. They didn't wait until the last minute in this one, blasting multiple home runs, including two by Chas McCormick, en route to the win.

Final Score: Astros 8, Rangers 4

Astros' Record: 39-28, second in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Zack Greinke (7-2)

Losing Pitcher: Jordan Lyles (2-5)

Homers galore

Jose Altuve, who hit a walk-off grand slam the night prior, started off Houston's offensive night right where he left off with a solo homer in the bottom of the first to put Houston up 1-0. The ball kept flying out for the Astros in the next inning, with Chas McCormick hitting a two-run blast and Martin Maldonado a solo shot, making it a 4-0 game through two. Texas would get on the board against Zack Greinke in the top of the third on a solo home run, but Myles Straw got that run right back to push the lead back to four by depositing one into the Crawford Boxes, making it 5-1.

Greinke cruises until the sixth

Through the first five innings, that solo homer allowed by Greinke was his only major blemish. He kept going in the top of the sixth, but the Rangers loaded the bases against him on two singles and a walk with one out. He would get a big strikeout of Joey Gallo for the second out, but Dusty Baker would make the call to bring in Brooks Raley to try and get out of the jam. Raley would instead allow two more runs to Greinke's stats, giving up a two-RBI single before getting the last out. Greinke's final line: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 89 P.

Astros get the mini-sweep

Houston wasted no time to grab the momentum back, thanks to McCormick's second homer of the night, a solo homer to start the bottom of the sixth to make it a three-run game. Eli White matched that with his second home run of the game for the Rangers, another solo homer to cut the lead back to two at 6-4 against Cristian Javier in the top of the seventh. Houston got their first run on a non-homer in the bottom of the seventh, putting two on base to set up an RBI double by Carlos Correa.

Javier continued on the mound in the top of the eighth, erasing a leadoff walk for a scoreless inning. Jose Altuve hit his third home run of this series and second of the game, with a two-out solo homer to make it 8-4, heading to the ninth. The Astros turned to Ryne Stanek with the four-run lead to finish things off, which he would do to wrap up the two-game sweep for Houston.

Up Next: With this quick two-game set complete with the Rangers, the Astros will welcome in a much fiercer opponent for four games as the 43-25 Chicago White Sox come to town. In the opener, Jose Urquidy (4-3, 3.77 ERA) for the Astros will go up against Dylan Cease (5-2, 3.38 ERA).

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The Houston Astros haven't counted on their catchers to deliver much offensive production in recent years, with defensive specialist Martin Maldonado being their primary catcher for the last few seasons. But top hitting prospect Yainer Diaz is making a case to get more playing time behind the plate and at first, based on his ability to swing the bat.

Until recently, he hasn't been able to get any meaningful playing time. Even David Hensley, who was optioned to Sugar Land a few weeks ago, has more plate appearances than Diaz this season.

So how does manager Dusty Baker find more opportunities for Diaz? Should he use him more often as a DH, along with getting time at first base and catcher?

And what does that mean for Jose Abreu, Martin Maldonado, and to a lesser extent, former first round pick and Sugar Land Space Cowboy catcher, Korey Lee?

Plus, considering how good the Astros outfielders have been this year, does the team need to grab another bat before the trade deadline?

Don't miss the video above as we break it all down!

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