contributed by austro (pinch-hitter dee-lux!)
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Astros 2
Rangers 7
WP: Wilson (6-3) LP: Banks (0-1)
Josh Banks drew the short straw for the afternoon start at the Tandoori in Arlington. He was in trouble from the beginning in his first start as an Astro. He managed to escape unscathed in the first two innings, stranding 5 baserunners, but in the bottom of the third the Rangers finally broke through to take a 1-0 lead. Meanwhile, the Astros were producing some baserunners, but Keppinger and Berkman both hit into double plays to kill innings.
There was a brief moment of hope in the top of the fourth when Jason Michaels smacked a two-run homer to give the Astros a 2-1 lead. But the Rangers extinguished that hope in the bottom of the fourth, first with a run-scoring double by Ramirez and then with a 3-run shot by Kinsler. That put the Rangers out to 5-2 lead and effectively meant the end of the game. The Rangers added two more in the fifth, and the Astros didn’t.
At the end of the day, the Rangers had 7 runs and 15 hits to the Astros’ 2 and 5. Banks was charged with 6 ER in 4+ IP. Just another day at the office.
Tune in Sunday at 7pm for the series finale (finally).