The Houston Astros defeated the Texas Rangers 11-2 on Friday night at Daikin Park to take a half-game lead in the AL West and clinch the Silver Boot for the third consecutive season. The win put the Astros over .500 for the first time since April.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Hunter Brown got the start on the bump for the Astros. Brown was coming off his best outing of the season in his previous start after an up-and-down 2026 campaign.
He walked the first batter he faced, Joc Pederson, before retiring the next hitter. Brown then surrendered a single to the returning Corey Seager, putting runners on first and second with one out. Houston escaped the early jam one batter later when Brandon Nimmo grounded into an inning-ending double play.
The Rangers countered with 15-year veteran Nathan Eovaldi. Like Brown, Eovaldi ran into trouble early. After retiring leadoff hitter Jeremy Peña, he allowed a single to Yordan Alvarez and walked Isaac Paredes before inducing a double play to get out of the inning unscathed.
Brown settled in during the second, striking out two batters while teaming up with Peña on a heads-up rundown that caught Evan Carter to end the inning.
LaMonte Wade Jr. got Houston on the board first. With runners on first and third, Wade ripped a two-run double to right field to give the Astros a 2-0 lead.
Alvarez added to the advantage with an RBI single up the middle, making it 3-0 Houston.
Cam Smith delivered a two-out triple in the fourth before Peña followed with an RBI single to extend the lead to 4-0.
Paredes and Christian Walker added more insurance in the fifth, launching back-to-back solo home runs into the Crawford Boxes to push Houston’s lead to 6-0.
Pederson got the Rangers on the board in the sixth with a leadoff home run to right, cutting the deficit to 6-1.
Brown’s night came to an end shortly after. Following a pair of base hits, Houston turned to Enyel De Los Santos out of the bullpen. De Los Santos allowed an RBI single to Evan Carter, bringing Texas within four at 6-2.
Yainer Díaz answered in the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run to left field, giving the Astros a little more breathing room at 7-2.
Houston wasn’t finished. Peña and Paredes each drove in runs later in the inning as the Astros plated three more to stretch the lead to 10-2.
Lucas Spence drove home the final run of the night in the eighth with an RBI single up the middle, capping off an 11-2 Astros victory in Game 1.
BIG NUMBER: 16
The Houston bats put together 16 hits in a beat down of their instate rivals, the Texas Rangers.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jeremy Peña
Coming off an AL Player of the Week award, Peña stayed hot in the series opener against Texas. He went 3 for 5 on the night with 3 RBI, a double, a HBP, and one run scored.
UP NEXT: The Astros will face the Texas Rangers again tomorrow, August 1st, for game two of this three-game set. First pitch is at 6:10 PM, with pregame starting at 5:40 PM and can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette & 104.1 Lake Charles.