When Houston native Scott Kazmir arrived one week prior to the non-waiver trade deadline and proceeded to work 14 2/3 scoreless innings over his first two starts with the Astros, the front office was credited for the acquisition and the savvy timing of the trade.
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The Astros suffered a scare in the seventh inning when shortstop Carlos Correa and second baseman Jose Altuve collided going after a fly ball in shallow center.
Kazmir, a free agent at season’s end, has allowed nine runs on 15 hits and four walks with only three strikeouts over his last two starts, a span of 7 1/3 innings.
Who will score the first run for the Rangers tonight?
Kazmir continued what has been a miserable month individually, succumbing to the Rangers time and again with two outs in an inning.
“I’m enjoying playing” said Choo of his recent dominance.
With the win, the Rangers pick up their eighth-straight win over the Astros while improving to 16-7 in September.
In Friday’s game, the Rangers started strong, getting to Houston starter Scott Kazmir early, forcing the pitcher out of the game in the fourth inning after allowing 10 hits and six runs. The Rangers have won 18 straight when scoring more than three runs. Prince Fielder found a 92 miles per hour fastball that he could drive the opposite way for a run-scoring double. Correa’s arm struck Altuve in the face and left the all-star shaken up and in pain for several minutes. However, a three game sweep of the Pirates would make things interesting as to whom will host the Wild Card game. Despite the Astros gaining 11 hits on the night, the Rangers’ pitching and defense stranded 11 Houston batters on base.
Said Shin-Soo Choo, the club’s hottest hitter in the second half: “That’s all we are talking about is have a good at-bat”.
Houston Astros’ Luis Valbuena, center, is congratulated on his… The Astros are a dismal 29-46 away from Minute Maid Park, which is the worst in the AL.
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This is a very quick turnaround for these two teams. He played some football games at the Astrodome when he was in high school and figured out a way to sneak in to the building to see the Astros play back then. I went deep into the ballgame (seven innings). Holland looks to get back on track after going 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in his last three starts, a stretch that has raised his ERA from 2.37 to 4.75. Colin McHugh (17-7, 3.93 ERA) will take the ball for Houston against Texas southpaw Derek Holland (3-3, 4.75 ERA).
