The Rangers head into the All-Star break on a high note after beating the Astros two out of three. It wasn’t so much that they won the series, it was how they won it.
Friday’s Game 1, they had a 3-0 lead, blew it, then came storming back with four in the eighth. This is a team that usually folds its tent once adversity hits.
Adversity hit early and often Saturday night in their 9-3 loss.
But Sunday’s game was one of the more enjoyable wins the Rangers have had all season. Once again, they jumped to a 3-0 lead with a balanced three-run second featuring a walk, double, single, and a Joc Pederson two-run double.
They made it 4-1 in the fifth with a walk and a Brandon Nimmo triple.
But Houston tied it in the seventh at 4-4, then went ahead in the eighth 5-4. Again, this is usually the time the Rangers quit.
But they fought back. Kyle Higashioka hit a solo homer n the bottom of the eighth to tie it. Then three straight singles in the bottom of the ninth, capped by Nimmo’s game-winning RBI, sent the Rangers into the break with a 6-5 win, a 49-47 record, and in first place.
They had every chance to bend and to break. Instead, they fought back and triumphed. It was enjoyable baseball. And the Rangers haven’t had that in a while.
*****


