ARLINGTON, Texas — Ezequiel Duran provided the lone bright spot for the Texas Rangers with the first multi-home run game of his career, but Houston’s power surge proved too much to overcome in a 9-3 Astros victory Saturday night at Globe Life Field.
The loss dropped Texas to 3-6 against Houston this season and marked the club’s 11th defeat by six or more runs, with eight of those lopsided losses coming at home. The Rangers will now need to win their final four meetings with the Astros to claim the 2026 Silver Boot Series.
Texas also missed an opportunity to lock up a winning record before the All-Star break and will look to take Sunday’s rubber match before the season pauses.
Houston wasted little time taking control against Rangers starter Kumar Rocker. Yordan Alvarez launched a two-run homer in the opening inning before LaMonte Wade Jr. broke the game open with the first grand slam of his career in the third. Christian Vázquez added a solo shot in the fourth as the Astros built a commanding 7-0 lead.
Rocker (2-8) endured the toughest outing of his young career, allowing career highs of seven earned runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six but surrendered three home runs, continuing a difficult stretch at Globe Life Field.
Duran finally got Texas on the board in the fourth, ending Houston’s shutout bid with a solo blast into the Rangers’ bullpen after battling through a nine-pitch at-bat. He added a two-run homer in the ninth to account for all three Texas runs. The infielder has now homered three times over his last six games and reached 10 home runs on the season.
Houston starter Peter Lambert (8-5) turned in another strong performance, limiting the Rangers to one run on three hits across six innings while striking out seven. He finished his outing by fanning three consecutive hitters after allowing a leadoff single in the sixth.
Alvarez paced the Astros’ offense with a 2-for-3 night that included a home run, double, two walks and two RBIs. His American League-leading 31st homer highlighted another productive performance against Texas, while Wade’s grand slam gave Houston all the offense it would need.
Wyatt Langford extended his hitting streak to seven games with a single and a walk for Texas.
The Rangers will try to salvage the series finale on Sunday before the All-Star break, while the Astros need just one victory over the final four meetings between the clubs this season to secure a sixth consecutive Silver Boot Series title.
