ARLINGTON, Texas — Brandon Nimmo delivered when the Rangers needed him most.
Nimmo lined a walk-off single off Astros closer Josh Hader in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting Texas to a dramatic 6-5 victory over Houston on Sunday afternoon at Globe Life Field and sending the Rangers into the All-Star break atop the American League West.
The win marked Texas’ fourth walk-off victory of the season and capped a series win over its in-state rival. The Rangers closed the first half with a 49-47 record and became the lone first-place team in the division at the break.
Texas erased a one-run deficit in the ninth after Kyle Higashioka opened the inning by tying the game with a solo home run that barely cleared the left-field wall. Later in the frame, Nimmo came through with the game-winning hit, recording his seventh career walk-off plate appearance and first since August 2025.
Houston appeared poised to steal the finale after Cam Smith launched a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth to give the Astros a 5-4 lead. But the Rangers answered late for their fourth victory this season when trailing after eight innings.
Josh Jung continued his productive stretch, going 2-for-3 with a triple, two walks and a run scored. His first-inning triple was his first of the season, and his pair of walks established a new career high with 32 on the year. Jung has now reached base safely in 12 consecutive games.
Nicky Lopez gave Texas an early lead with an RBI single in the second inning before Joc Pederson followed with a two-run double to extend the advantage to 3-0.
Making his first career start on three days’ rest, left-hander MacKenzie Gore limited Houston to one run over four innings. After a taxing 28-pitch first inning, Gore settled in and allowed only Jose Altuve’s solo homer in the fourth while striking out four.
Houston battled back in the late innings. Isaac Paredes delivered a two-run single during a three-run seventh that tied the game at 4-4 before Smith’s eighth-inning blast briefly put the Astros ahead.
Altuve finished with his 11th home run of the season and the 39th of his career against Texas, moving into fourth place on the all-time list for home runs against the Rangers.
Cristian Javier started for Houston and allowed three earned runs over three innings in his first start since returning from the injured list. He struck out four but walked three and did not factor into the decision.
The Astros also lost center fielder Brice Matthews, who exited in the second inning with a left knee injury after colliding with the outfield wall while attempting to make a catch in the first.
Texas has been at its best when scoring first, finishing the first half 37-11 in those games. The Rangers are also 41-9 when scoring at least four runs and an impressive 32-2 when accomplishing both.
Houston heads into the All-Star break at 47-51, its lowest winning percentage entering the break since the 2014 season. Despite Sunday’s loss, the Astros still lead the season series 6-4 and will have a chance to retain the Silver Boot when the clubs meet again in Houston later this month.
For Texas, Sunday’s comeback provided the perfect finish to the first half and reinforced the resilience that has kept the Rangers in first place heading into the stretch run.
