Nathaniel Lowe delivered a three-RBI game and Adolis Garcia clubbed a home run as the Texas Rangers topped the host Houston Astros 6-2 Friday.
Lowe provided the Rangers a 1-0 lead with his RBI double in the first inning and produced some insurance with his two-run single to left field with one out in the fifth. Lowe also walked and scored in the third as Texas claimed the opener of this three-game series.
Martin Perez (2-1), who pitched masterfully in two of his three appearances at Minute Maid Park last season, limited the Astros to two runs on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts while pitching into the sixth. Both runs scored via the solo homer, with Yordan Alvarez putting Houston on the board with his two-out home run to left in the third — his fourth of the season — while Martin Maldonado socked a 410-foot blast to left-center in the fifth.
Perez escaped a jam in the fifth after the Maldonado homer. Three batters later, with Jake Meyers and Alex Bregman on base, Perez struck out Alvarez with a sinker and ended the rally when Jose Abreu lined out.
The Rangers got the better of Alvarez again in the seventh, this time with Maldonado on third. Texas reliever Dane Dunning retired Alvarez with a 3-2 slider to preserve the three-run lead.
Alvarez struck out three times, all swinging.
Lowe did his damage against Astros right-hander Luis Garcia (0-2), who made his first start against Texas since recording an immaculate inning against the Rangers on June 15, 2022.
Luis Garcia wasn’t as sharp this time around. He retired the Rangers in order only once, striking out the side in the fourth. By that juncture, he had already surrendered the Lowe RBI double and a two-run blast to Adolis Garcia that stretched the Texas lead to 3-0 in the third. Adolis Garcia plated Lowe with his homer to left-center, his 10th against Houston since the start of the 2021 season.
Lowe added his two-run single in the fifth, chasing home Leody Taveras and Marcus Semien, who singled, doubled, walked twice and scored three runs. Luis Garcia allowed five runs on six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over five innings.
The win marked the sixth for Texas at Houston in 35 games since the start of the 2019 season.
–Field Level Media
