HOUSTON — The Texas Rangers couldn’t hang on late, dropping a 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Houston Astros Saturday night at Minute Maid Park.
Adolis García gave Texas a brief lead in the 11th with an RBI single, scoring Marcus Semien from second. But the bullpen faltered, as two walks and a base hit from Zack Short sealed the walk-off for Houston.
Texas showed life late. Kyle Higashioka’s solo homer in the ninth tied the game and handed Astros closer Josh Hader his first blown save of the season. Semien also chipped in with a solo blast in the eighth.
Jacob deGrom struck out eight over six innings, allowing just two runs in a solid outing. But a 19-strikeout night from Texas hitters proved costly.
The loss continues a tough trend — the Rangers haven’t taken a season series from the Astros since 2016.
Next: Nathan Eovaldi (6-3, 1.62 ERA) gets the nod in Sunday’s rubber match vs. Houston’s Hunter Brown (9-3, 2.21 ERA).
