José Sirí guides Astros to a spectacular 15-1 win over Rangers

The Astros keep shrinking their magic number to clinch a postseason berth in the 2021 season. On Monday night, they pounded the Rangers again en route to a 15-1 win, thanks in part to what outfield rookie José Sirí did at the plate in his first career start. The 26-year-old shone with two home runs and five runs batted in.

Sirí began the game as the eighth man of the lineup and covering left field, and things couldn’t have gone much better for him. He kicked off his night with a single to open the second inning, hit his first career home run in the Majors during the third frame, got a two-run single in the sixth, and launched his second big fly of the game in the eighth to make it 15-1.

By the end of the night for the Astros, he was 4-for-5, with two four-baggers, five ribbies, three runs, and a strikeout — a pretty good showing if he wants to see more playing time moving forward. With this one, the Astros reached 12 wins over the Rangers this campaign, their most against any team.

Yordan Álvarez also played a huge role on Monday. The designated hitter collected two more dingers to raise his count to 30 for the first time in his young career. Also, he added three runs batted in to get closer to 100 (94).

This was another strong showing by the Astros’ offense. In fact, they’ve scored at least 10 times in three of their last five wins. It was a nice way to begin the final series of 2021 against Texas, a four-game face-off at Globe Life Field.

On the pitching side, starter Jake Odorizzi lasted only 1 1/3 innings on the mound after being replaced due to injury. According to the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome, Odorizzi couldn’t put any weight on his right foot when he came out of the game.

Even though Odo was injured, Cristian Javier —who got the win—, Phil Maton, Blake Taylor, Brooks Raley, and Yimi García combined for 7 2/3 episodes of seven hits, one earned run, one walk, and nine strikeouts.

Both teams will come back on Tuesday night (7:05 pm CT) with two veterans on the hill: Zack Greinke for the Astros, Jordan Lyles for the Rangers. Should be a fun game where the Astros will look for their 85th win of the campaign.

VIDEOS AND BOX SCORE HERE.