ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Brandon Nimmo hit a game-ending single that drove in Wyatt Langford with his third hit of the game, and the Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros 6-5 on Sunday to enter the All-Star break with a winning record at 49-47.
Langford singled off Josh Hader (3-1) leading off the ninth and advanced when Zach Dezenzo misplayed the ball for an error. Langford moved up on Josh Jung’s single and scored standing up when Nimmo hit a one-hopper that glanced off the raised glove of Hader and into center field, giving Texas its fourth walk-off win this year.
Nimmo had his first walk-off plate appearance for Texas and his seventh in the big leagues.
All-Star closer Jacob Latz (2-1) intentionally walked Yordan Alvarez with two outs and none on in the ninth, Alvarez’s second intentional walk of the game, then retired Isaac Paredes on a popout.
Texas won two of three in the in-state series and leads the AL West by 1 1/2 games over second-place Seattle (48-49) and by three games over third-place Houston (47-51). The Rangers have won eight of their last 10 series rubber games.
Astros center fielder Brice Matthews injured his left knee crashing into the wall in the first inning trying to catch a Jung drive and left for a pinch hitter in the second.
Houston’s Cristian Javier gave up three runs, four hits and three walks over three innings in his first start since straining his right shoulder during an outing on April 8.
Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore allowed one run and two hits over four innings in his first big league outing on three days’ rest. Jacob deGrom had been scratched because of a mild left glute strain.
Nicky Lopez’s RBI single and Joc Pederson’s two-run double built a 3-0 Texas lead in the second.
Jose Altuve homered in the fourth, and Nimmo’s RBI triple boosted the lead to 4-1 in the fifth.
Jeremy Peña’s sacrifice fly and Paredes’ two-run single after an intentional walk to Alvarez tied the score in the seventh.
Cam Smith put the Astros ahead 5-4 with an eighth-inning homer, and Kyle Higashioka went deep in the bottom half.
Up Next
Astros: Host Baltimore starting Friday.
Rangers: Open a series at Atlanta on Friday.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
The Associated Press
