Bryan King entered Friday having allowed a run in just one of his last seventeen appearances. That streak ended in the worst possible spot as the Rangers scored four runs in the eighth inning to turn a tied game into a 7-3 win over the Astros in the opener of the Silver Boot Series at Globe Life Field.
It erased a comeback Houston had pieced together with back-to-back home runs. Yordan Alvarez broke Houston’s scoreless drought with a solo homer in the sixth, his 30th of the season and the 200th of his career, making him the first Astro to reach 30 homers before the All-Star break. The milestone also made him the sixth Astro ever to reach 200 career homers—joining Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman, Craig Biggio, Jose Altuve, and Jimmy Wynn—and he reached the mark faster than anyone in franchise history. The 455-foot blast, which left his bat at 111.2 mph, was his longest homer of the season. Yainer Diaz followed with a two-run shot in the seventh that tied the game at 3-3 before King’s eighth-inning collapse undid both swings.
Wyatt Langford led off the eighth with a home run, and Jake Burger followed a few batters later with a three-run blast that put the game out of reach.
Hunter Brown needed 98 pitches to get through six innings and issued five walks, tying a career high, but still turned in a quality start. Texas scored twice in the first: Wyatt Langford scored on Brandon Nimmo’s RBI double, and Josh Jung came around behind him on a Jake Burger groundout. Brown settled down after that, allowing only two hits the rest of the way and closing out his outing by retiring six straight batters.
Cal Quantrill kept Houston off balance for most of the night. The right-hander scattered five hits over six innings, and outside of Alvarez’s solo homer, Houston generated little offense against him.
Jeremy Peña made his return from the injured list a productive one, going 1-for-4 with an infield single in his first game back from a left calf strain.
Manager Joe Espada defended the decision afterward, calling King “the right guy in the right spot” and noting he hadn’t allowed a run since mid-June. He said the team needed to shake off the loss and get ready for the next game.
The Astros and Rangers continue their Silver Boot Series on Saturday at Globe Life Field. Peter Lambert will start for Houston opposite Kumar Rocker.
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