Rangers top helpless Astros 6-2 in series opener

On Friday night, the Astros’ offense was handcuffed by the Rangers’ pitching. Not only were they 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position but they also left seven men on base to lose 6-2 against Texas to open the series.

Luis García’s struggles continued as he was punished with six hits and five earned runs to get credited with another loss (0-2) and raise his ERA to a not-encouraging 7.71. García has now allowed 12 earned runs over 14 innings of 19 hits this season. He’s served up a home run in each of his three starts.

By the end of the fifth inning, the score was 5-2. The Rangers had scored all their runs thanks to a Nathaniel Lowe double in the first inning, a two-run shot by Adolis García, and an RBI single from Lowe.

All the damage the Astros were able to do was two solo home runs by Yordan Álvarez, who hit his fourth, and Martín Maldonado, who registered his first. But it wasn’t enough for Houston to come back.

Among the positive things for the Astros on Friday night, you can include…

• Mauricio Dubón kept his streak alive and he’s now carrying a nine-game hitting streak.
• Phil Maton threw another scoreless inning and began this season with 6 1/3 innings with no runs, two hits, one walk, and six strikeouts.
• Yordan Álvarez registered one RBI and ranks second in the MLB, trailing only Orioles’ Ryan Mountcastle (19).

On Saturday night (6:10 pm CT), the Astros will get a second chance against the Rangers. Hunter Brown will try to repeat what he did in his last outing so the Astros can even this series. Jon Gray will be his counterpart.

VIDEOS AND BOX SCORE HERE.