The Houston Astros turned the Silver Boot Series into the Silver Broom Series with a 7-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday at Daikin Park, completing a three-game sweep and opening a 2½-game lead in the AL West.
Peter Lambert retired his first 12 batters before the Rangers broke through. Jose Altuve’s infield single in the third scored Yordan Alvarez from third for Houston’s first run, and Jeremy Peña followed in the fourth with a two-run homer to make it 3-0. Texas answered in the fifth on RBI singles from Evan Carter and Ezequiel Duran, then tied it in the seventh when Brandon Nimmo hit a game-tying homer off reliever Steven Okert.
Houston regained the lead for good later in the seventh. Christian Walker doubled and Taylor Trammell was hit by a pitch before Cam Smith’s go-ahead single put the Astros back on top. LaMonte Wade Jr. followed with a bases-loaded infield single that scored another run on a Texas defensive miscue, and with the bases still loaded and two outs, Alvarez lined a two-run double down the right field line to cap the rally.
Lambert worked into the sixth, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out eight before Okert took over. Bryan Abreu struck out Nicky Lopez to escape a jam and end the seventh, and Bryan King and AJ Blubaugh combined to close out the final two innings.
“Just playing our tails off, man. On both sides of the ball,” manager Joe Espada said after the game.
Peña finished with two hits, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. Alvarez reached base in all five plate appearances with three hits, including two doubles, giving him his 13th career four-hit game and pushing his major-league-leading OPS to 1.092.
The win improved Houston to 58-55 on the season, a 2½-game lead over the second-place Rangers in the AL West, with the trade deadline arriving Monday.
Houston opens a series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday, the trade deadline day, with first pitch at 7:10 p.m. Central. Cristian Javier gets the start for the Astros against Toronto’s Shane Bieber.
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