Loss upon loss
Darvish coasts to victory after McCullers joins crowded DL
On a day that began with Lance McCullers joining Dallas Keuchel on the 10-day disabled list and took another downward swerve with a concussion suffered by right fielder Josh Reddick, Monday night concluded with the Astros’ fifth loss in their last seven games after an 11-game winning streak.
Yu Darvish held the Astros to two walks and no hits into the fifth inning, and the Rangers generated two runs on three consecutive hits off Astros starter Joe Musgrove in the second inning of a 6-1 Texas win at Minute Maid Park.
Darvish (6-4), loser of his last four decisions against Houston dating to 2014, induced 12 groundouts with four strikeouts and kept the Astros off-balance with offspeed and breaking pitches. The only hit he allowed was Alex Bregman’s RBI single in the fifth.
“He was very much doing Yu Darvish things,” said Astros manager A.J. Hinch. “His breaking ball was better than we’ve seen, and he used it often. His movement on pitches was better.”
Despite his recent stretch, Darvish has generally been masterful against the Astros during his years in Texas. This was the fourth time he has held the Astros to one hit in seven or more innings.
“When all five pitches are working, it’s tough,” said shortstop Carlos Correa. “Last time we faced him, he was throwing fastball, slider. This time, he was throwing everything.”
Jeremy Jeffress allowed a ninth-inning double by Carlos Correa, the Astros’ second hit, but pitched two scoreless innings for the Rangers.
Musgrove (4-5), who came off the disabled list Monday to make his first start since May 26 for the Astros’ injury-decimated rotation, held Texas to five hits through 42 innings, but the Rangers did sufficient damage in the second inning to claim their second win in eight games this season with the Astros.
In the second, Jonathan Lucroy singled with two out and scored when Rougned Odor tripled to the warning track in front of the Rangers’ bullpen in left center.
Joey Gallo’s shot to right field caromed off the top of the wall in right field and stayed in play, scoring Odor, and Gallo dashed for home when the relay throw dribbled behind home plate. But Musgrove’s throw to catcher Brian McCann was in time to catch the sliding Gallo.
Reddick collided with the right field wall on Gallo’s drive and was lifted during the fourth after suffering what the Astros described as a concussion.
Musgrove struck out two and walked one in his 75-pitch outing before being lifted with two out in the fifth for Chris Devenski.
Hinch said he wanted to keep Musgrove to 75 pitches and was generally pleased with his command after a long layoff.
“It was good to see him on the mound, and he handled himself well and was a little sharper than I expected,” he said.
Musgrove, however, said he felt “out of rhythm, out of sync,” and said he was disappointed to allow three hits to the lower third of the Rangers’ order.
He said he was tired and sore after the game but Tuesday “wil be the real judgment” as to how he weathered his return to the rotation.
The Astros finally broke through in the fifth with their first run and only hit off Darvish. Carlos Beltran led off with a walk and, one out later, took second on Yuli Guriel’s soft grounder to first.
Bregman lofted a 2-2 pitch softly to left, and Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara was unable to make the catch as he slid to the turf. Beltran scored to cut the Rangers’ margin to 2-1.
Texas added a run in the fifth off Devenski when Elvis Andrus walked and scored on Adrian Beltre’s double to center. Mazara put the game out of reach in the eighth with a threerun homer to dead center against Dayan Diaz, the Astros’ third pitcher.