ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ The Rangers scored 11 runs between the third and fifth innings en route to a 12-2 victory against the Astros. The game was played between two teams whose minds and hearts were probably about 1,000 miles west in Texas. The Rangers' combo of Shin-Soo Choo (three hits), Elvis Andrus (four hits) and cleanup man Adrian Beltre combined for 10 of the team's 14 hits, six runs and eight RBIs.
Andrus went into his final at-bat needing a home run for his first career cycle, but instead doubled. Andrus finished the night at .303, the first time he's been above .300 since the All-Star break. He also has a career-high 36 doubles and 56 extra-base hits. His RBI moved him within one of his career high of 69, set last year.
Choo finished 3 for 6 with four RBIs and three runs scored, and Beltre was 3 for 5 with three RBIs.
Meanwhile, starter Martin Perez keeps churning through August. He went seven innings for the second straight start, only the second time since his return from 2014 Tommy John surgery he has had back-to-back outings of at least seven innings. He's now 5-1 in August and has won five consecutive starts. During the win streak, he's allowed six walks and 11 runs in 34 innings (2.91 ERA). The longest win streak of his career is six games.
Perez gave up eight hits and two earned runs while striking out four Tuesday.
The Rangers beat the Astros for the fifth time in the last seven games. With five games remaining between the teams, Houston holds an 8-6 lead in the season series. The Rangers would have to go 4-1 to win the season series. The Rangers have won the season series 10 teams in the last 11 years.
