Jose Altuve described his tiebreaking two-run double as lucky, while Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch used the term “crazy” when describing all the games against their instate AL West rivals the Texas Rangers.
Altuve had the game-winning hit on a hard chopper past third base and down the left-field line in the seventh inning as Houston won 3-1 on Wednesday night in a game from which Rangers starter Yu Darvish made an early exit.
“These games here, they’re crazy. Obviously, we know it can be done now in this ballpark,” Hinch said. “Certainly, it’s such a relief to get a win after a couple of tough losses.”
Houston had been 0-8 this season against the Rangers, and had lost 12 straight in Arlington — matching the club record for most consecutive losses in an opposing ballpark.
The Rangers said Darvish’s early exit with the game tied 1-1 was a precaution and that an examination of his sore arm by team physician Keith Meister revealed no issues.
It was only his third start for the Rangers since elbow surgery in March last year.
AL East leaders Baltimore had a 4-0 win over Kansas City, completing a three-game sweep and extending the Royals’ losing streak to seven games.
Chris Parmelee homered twice in his first start for the Yankees, while Carlos Beltran added two more big hits to his huge series as New York beat the Los Angeles Angels 12-6, Toronto beat Detroit 7-2 and Minnesota edged Miami 7-5.
The league-leading Chicago Cubs beat Philadelphia 8-1, while the Mets edged the Pirates 6-5 with pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores’ bloop single with the bases loaded in the 10th inning driving in the go-ahead at Pittsburgh.
The Giants had a 2-1 win to split a two-game series with Boston, with Mac Williamson hitting a go-ahead home run leading off the eighth inning for his first career long ball.
The Seattle Mariners had a 5-0 win over Cleveland, the Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 12-7 and the Rockies beat the Dodgers 1-0.
In Phoenix, Arizona, Corey Dickerson homered twice as Tampa Bay completed a 10-game trip with a 6-3 victory over Arizona.
In San Diego, Ender Inciarte finished a home run shy of the cycle and scored twice, while Julio Teheran pitched eight innings and had an RBI single as Atlanta beat San Diego 4-2 to stop a six-game losing streak.
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