Field Level Media
May 13, 2018
Dallas Keuchel worked seven shutout innings while Evan Gattis and Carlos Correa both homered for a second consecutive game as the Houston Astros claimed the rubber match of their three-game series with the Texas Rangers with a 6-1 win on Sunday at Minute Maid Park.
Keuchel (3-5) continued what has been a bounce-back month of May, allowing just three hits and one walk while recording a season-high eight strikeouts.
After surrendering six earned runs in his final start of April, Keuchel has allowed four runs on 14 hits and three walks with 17 strikeouts over 22 innings this month, posting back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
In addition to the eight strikeouts, Keuchel recorded eight ground-ball outs and allowed just one extra-base hit. Shin-Soo Choo in the first inning and Jurickson Profar with two outs in the fourth were the only baserunners to reach scoring position against Keuchel for Texas.
Texas totaled three runs in the series.
Catcher Carlos Perez smacked a solo home run, his first, off Astros right-hander Hector Rondon to get the Rangers on the board in the eighth.
Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre suffered a re-aggravation of a left hamstring injury in the seventh.
Two batters after Yuli Gurriel delivered an RBI single that gave the Astros a 1-0 lead against Rangers left-hander Matt Moore (1-5) in the bottom of the third, Gattis smashed his third home run out to left-center field, a two-run shot that scored Gurriel and upped the lead to 3-0.
Correa was the fulcrum in the three-run seventh, belting a two-run shot to left-center off Kevin Jepsen that upped the lead to 5-0. Alex Bregman, who went 2-for-3 with two walks, scored for the second time on the Correa dinger.
Gurriel (2-for-5) scored his second run when Derek Fisher produced a sacrifice fly later in the seventh against lefty Brandon Mann, who made his big-league debut.
Catcher Max Stassi (2-for-4) also posted a multi-hit game for the Astros.
--Field Level Media