The Houston Astros’ bullpen overcame a shaky start from Ronel Blanco to a 5-4 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday at Daikin Park, extending their winning streak to five games and pushing their AL West lead to 1½ games with the season series already secured.
Houston built its lead early against Rangers starter Jacob deGrom, who was chased after just 3⅓ innings, his second-shortest outing in 21 starts this season. LaMonte Wade Jr.’s two-out single drove in the game’s first run in the second inning. Yordan Alvarez led off the third with a double, and after a walk to Christian Walker, Jose Altuve worked an eight-pitch walk before Taylor Trammell chopped a two-run single into left field to make it 3-1. Texas answered with two runs in the fourth on an RBI single from Alejandro Osuna and a run-scoring sacrifice bunt from Elias Díaz to tie it, but Houston regained the lead in the bottom of the inning. Jeremy Peña doubled, Alvarez was intentionally walked, and Isaac Paredes walked to load the bases before Walker’s infield single scored a run and Alvarez came around to score on a wild pitch, making it 5-3.
Blanco, in his third start back from Tommy John surgery, allowed three runs on five hits over 4⅔ innings, including a solo homer to Wyatt Langford in the third. He was pulled with a runner on and two outs in the fifth, and five relievers combined to finish it. Bennett Sousa recorded the final out of the fifth, and Enyel De Los Santos worked around a solo homer from Elias Díaz that trimmed Houston’s lead to 5-4. Steven Okert threw 1⅓ scoreless innings, Bryan Abreu retired the side in order in the eighth, and Josh Hader closed it out in the ninth for his 15th save in as many chances, striking out Langford to end it.
Walker finished 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, but he appeared to be in visible discomfort during his eighth-inning at-bat, reacting in pain after his first swing and briefly going down before finishing the at-bat, which ended in a strikeout. He did not look right afterward, and the Astros had not provided an update on his condition following the game, leaving his availability for Sunday’s series finale uncertain.
The win improved Houston to 57-55 on the season, its 10th victory in the last 11 games, and gave the Astros their largest division lead of the season at 1½ games over the Rangers. Alvarez reached base three times and continues to lead the American League in all three Triple Crown categories, entering Sunday with a .324 average, 35 home runs, and 82 RBIs.
With Friday’s win having already clinched the season series and the Silver Boot, Houston has now taken the first two games of the weekend and can complete a three-game sweep of Texas on Sunday. First pitch is 1:10 p.m. Central, when Peter Lambert faces Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker.
