Rangers vs Astros Recap: Astros top Rangers 4-1 in May showdown

The Texas Rangers traveled to Houston on Saturday, May 16, facing the Astros in a matchup where veteran pitching would meet a team entering a new era. Jacob deGrom, Texas's experienced ace, took the mound against Houston starter Kai-Wei Teng. Unfortunately for the Rangers, the Astros came out swinging early with tremendous power. Jose Altuve opened the bottom of the first inning by launching a fastball 358 feet to left field for a solo homer. Just one batter later, Yordan Alvarez followed suit, crushing another fastball 362 feet to right field. Before the Rangers could even get an out in their opening inning, Houston already led 2-0. The early barrage set the tone for what would become a dominant Astros performance throughout the afternoon.

Houston's explosive offensive display continued into the fourth inning, when the Astros struck for two more runs to extend their advantage. Kyle Walker stepped up first and launched a 4-seam fastball 422 feet to left-center field for a towering home run. His hit traveled the farthest of any that day, showcasing tremendous power and exit velocity. Just two batters later, Cole followed with his own blast, sending a fastball 361 feet to right field over the wall. The fourth-inning surge gave Houston a commanding 4-0 lead and essentially put the game out of reach. Meanwhile, the Rangers struggled to generate any offensive momentum against Houston's pitching staff. Their defense played cleanly, but they simply couldn't match the Astros' explosive power display during this critical stretch.

The Rangers finally broke through against Houston's pitchers in the seventh inning when Joc Pederson lined a single to center field, scoring Burger from second base. This marked Texas's only run of the afternoon and showed some promise for the struggling offense. However, the single scoring play came far too late to make any real difference. Houston had already built such a commanding lead that one run wasn't nearly enough to mount a comeback. The Astros held firm in the late innings, and the final score read 4-1 in Houston's favor. This loss dropped Texas to 21-24 on the season and continued their recent struggles. Meanwhile, Houston improved to 19-28, securing back-to-back victories. Though both teams faced injury challenges, the Astros' dominant power display proved too much for the Rangers to overcome on this Saturday afternoon.