Rangers 7, Astros 1
W: Wandy Rodriguez
L: Feldman
HR: Valbuena (7), Peguero (1), Blanks (3)
Scott Feldman never gave his teammates much of a chance, getting pounded for four runs in the first and two more in the third, and basically never allowing a hitter to make less than hard contact.
The game was still in the balance in the bottom of the second, with the Astros trailing 4-1 thanks to Valbuena’s upper-tank shot in the first, and the bases were loaded for Altuve with two outs. This is where all those things that went right during the winning streak broke the other way. Altus pounded a ball down the LF line that was just foul, and a foot away from clearing the bases; instead, he tapped out to the pitcher on the next pitch, and the Astros’ only threat of the night was over.
To make matters worse, Springer suffered a likely concussion crashing into the wall in the seventh:
Speculation is already that he will head to the 7-day DL, which could mean a Santana sighting for a week.
Oh, and Wandy Rodriguez pitched 8 easy innings against his old team. Congratulations to a guy this writer always enjoyed watching pitch.