HOUSTON -- The Texas Rangers did not clinch the Silver Boot Series Monday night at Daikin Park and, in turn, only distanced themselves further from the postseason.
The Rangers lost 6-3 to the Houston Astros in Monday's series opener at Daikin Park after a number of errors, decisions and missed opportunities cost them in the midst of a playoff race. The Rangers, now 6-5 against Houston this season and three games behind them for the third American League wild-card berth, must win one of the next two games to claim the in-state rivalry title for the first time in nine years.
The erroneous dagger was plunged in the bottom of the fifth inning. Rangers right-hander Jack Leiter got Houston catcher Yainer Diaz to hit a soft ground-ball to lead off the inning. Shortstop Josh Smith fielded it and made a low throw to first base that Jake Burger couldn't corral.
Leiter, in a two-strike count vs. Astros rookie right fielder Zach Cole after two force outs left a runner on base, left a fastball up in the zone. Cole turned on it for a go-ahead two-run home run into the right-field seats to give Houston a 4-3 lead. The Astros scored twice in the seventh -- first on a Jeremy Peña double vs. Leiter and again on a Cole single vs. Jacob Webb -- to mount a three-run advantage. Leiter allowed three earned runs on five hits and a walk and was hit hard by the Astros in the seventh inning before he was replaced by Webb.
The 25-year-old rookie filled a bingo card with miscues in the first inning with two singles, a walk, a hit batter and the team's first costly error of the game. He fielded a comebacker from Houston third baseman Carlos Correa with two runners on base but, with shaky footing on the mound, airmailed his throw to first baseman Jake Burger. The Astros scored twice to take a 2-0 lead.
But, after he plunked first baseman Christian Walker with a pitch to load the bases with one out in the first, Leiter retired 11 consecutive batters before catcher Yainer Diaz reached on an error in the bottom of the fifth. He threw as many pitches in the second, third and fourth innings (26) as he did in the first inning (26) to settle in before the fifth.
The Rangers scored three times in the top of the fifth inning courtesy of a moonshot two-run home run from third baseman Josh Jung that landed in the left field Crawford Boxes and a single from Smith that scored second baseman Dylan Moore. Houston right-hander Jason Alexander had faced one batter over the minimum in his first four innings.
Texas had an opportunity to score in the seventh when catcher Jonah Heim and pinch hitter Rowdy Tellez reached on back-to-back singles. Rangers third base coach Tony Beasley waived Heim around third base on a single from left fielder Wyatt Langford. Heim, whose 25.2 feet per second sprint speed is among baseball's slowest, was thrown out at home plate by left fielder Jesús Sánchez to end the inning and threat.
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