Nick Tepesch (2-3, 4.50) vs Jordan Lyles (1-0, 4.50)
Before this latest Rangers series began, today's game looked like the most winnable for the Astros, facing Nick Tepesch instead of Alexi Ogando or Yu Darvish. In the end, it ended up being the most one-sided affair in Texas' favor. Rangers complete the sweep by a 12-7 score, and it wasn't even that close. Houston's latest losing streak is at four, and they drop to 10-28 overall.
On the Mound:
*Astros moms, avert your eyes: Jordan Lyles made his third big league start of the season, and it was both his shortest and his worst. Doing his best Bedard/Humber/Peacock impression, he turned in a 4 IP / 11 H / 8 R / 8 ER / 3 BB / 1 K line.
*Edgar Gonzalez returned to the Astros (after Jeff Luhnow took our suggestion), but he didn't immediately fare much better than Lyles. He surrendered 4 runs on a pair of 5th-inning homers, but he settled down for three scoreless innings after that.
*Jose Veras walked one in an otherwise perfect 9th.
At the Plate:
*Houston only managed 4 hits through the first 7 innings, with the only non-single coming from Jason Castro's solo HR in the 4th. Jason finish 2 for 4 with 2 R, 2 RBI, and a K.
*cHRis Carter had a big blow in the 8th, launching a 3-run shot to LF for his ninth HR of the year. He finished 1 for 3 with a walk and a strikeout.
*Brandon Barnes got the Astros on the board one more time, with a 2-run homer in the 9th, to end his day 1 for 4 with 3 K, and a new highlight reel catch in CF.
*Matt Dominguez went 1 for 4 with a K and scored on Barnes' HR.
*Jose Altuve started at 2B and went 1 for 3.
*Jimmy Paredes came in for Altuve defensively in the 7th and finished the game 1 for 2 with a run scored.
*Trevor Crowe led off and went 1 for 5.
*Carlos Pena DH'd and went 1 for 3 with a R, a BB, and a K.
Turning Point:
After two okay innings, Jordan Lyles' day went south quickly starting in the 3rd, with four Rangers scoring in that inning, and three more in the 4th. Edgar Gonzalez then allowed four in the 5th to make it 11 runs in 3 innings, burying Houston under a 12-1 mountain.
Man of the Match:
Chris Carter. Too bad it was 12-2 Texas at the time, but 3-run homers are always nice.
Goat of the Game:
Jordan Lyles. Hopefully we'll get more starts like his first two and less starts like this one.
