HOUSTON _ The Rangers homered five times, including four in the first four innings Tuesday night but it wasn't enough. The Astros also had two homers, including a game-changing, go-ahead grand slam by Marwin Gonzalez in the eighth inning that lifted them to an 8-7 win at Minute Maid Park.
Rangers starter Alex Claudio pitched impressively over four-plus innings and left with a 5-3 lead after Gonzalez led off the fifth with a homer. Claudio retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced. Jose Altuve's two-run homer pulled the Astros to within 5-2 in the fourth. Claudio's previous long outing in the majors was 41/3. That was out of the bullpen last season. Jose Leclerc replaced Claudio and allowed a hit and had one strikeout in the fifth.
Sam Dyson pitched a 1-2-3 sixth but walked the leadoff hitter in the seventh before getting a long fly out to right. Dario Alvarez replaced Dyson to face left-handed-hitting pinch-hitter Josh Reddick and struck him out swinging on four pitches. Keone Kela took over with the top of the order coming up and got George Springer to fly out to deep center field to end the seventh. Kela started the eighth but ran into trouble after a leadoff double and walk. A single loaded the bases with one out before Kela forced a foul out to third for out No. 2. But Gonzalez ripped a 2-1 95-mph fastball down the line in right for a grand slam and 7-5 Astros' lead. Springer added a run-scoring single to make it 8-5 against Jeremy Jeffress.
The Rangers hit four homers in the first four innings against Astros' starter Mike Fiers. Three of them were solo shots. Delino DeShields led off with a homer in the first, Joey Gallo homered in the second and Elvis Andrus and Jonathan Lucroy homered in the fourth. Lucroy's homer was a two-run shot and gave the Rangers a 5-0 lead. Nomar Mazara's two-run homer in the ninth pulled the Rangers to within a run and Lucroy followed with an infield single. A Pinch-runner, in for Lucroy, moved to second on a wild pitch and then third on Shin-Soo Choo's ground out. But Will Harris, who replaced Luke Gregerson, retired Ryan Rua, Choo and Carlos Gomez to preserve the Astros' win.
