Christian Walker and Yordan Alvarez blasted solo home runs to back the splendid start from pitcher Hunter Brown as the Houston Astros walloped the Texas Rangers 11-0 on Saturday to capture the second game of a key three-game series between the American League West rivals in Arlington, Texas.
The win allowed the Astros (78-65) to even the series after Texas (73-70) captured the opening game 4-3 in 12 innings on Friday.
Houston held on to its 3 1/2-game lead over Seattle in the AL West, with the Rangers dropping to five games off the pace in the division and a game and a half behind the second-place Mariners for the AL’s final wild-card spot.
Brown (11-7) outdueled Texas ace Jacob deGrom, producing six shutout innings while allowing four hits and three walks and striking out eight in his 107-pitch outing. Enyel De Los Santos and rookies Jayden Murray and Logan VanWey followed Brown to the mound for Houston in the shutout.
The Astros pounded out 15 hits, with Alvarez leading the way with three.
deGrom (11-7) allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings, surrendering five hits and walking two while striking out eight. He was pulled with two on in the sixth for reliever Cole Winn, who allowed an RBI double from the Astros’ Yainer Diaz.
Walker touched up deGrom for a 426-foot homer to dead center field to open the third inning and stake the Astros to the lead. Alvarez expanded the lead to 2-0 in the fifth with a 421-foot round tripper just inside the right-field foul pole.
Houston made it 3-0 in the sixth as Carlos Correa singled to right and went to second on a wild pitch. Victor Caratini followed with a walk that chased deGrom before Diaz slashed his run-scoring hit to the right-field corner off Winn.
The Astros all but put the game on ice in the eighth. Pinch hitter Cam Smith opened the frame with a triple and — after Caratini was hit by a pitch — trotted home on a double by Walker. Taylor Trammell ran for Caratini and scored on Jake Meyer’s single. Walker then came across on a single by Alvarez to push the margin to 6-0.
Diaz and Mauricio Dubon drove in two runs each in the ninth before Ramon Urias added a fifth run in the frame with an RBI single.
The Rangers finished with just four hits (all of them singles), none after a Josh Smith hit to open the fifth inning.
