Texas Rangers answered the Astros' no-hitter with the team's most explosive first inning in 14 years.
The Texas Rangers were in need of a bounce back, and boy did they get just that in their 10-7 rout of the Houston Astros on Tuesday. They broke out with an eight-run first inning that came just one night after they faced a no-hitter by three different Astros pitchers. The historic first was kicked off by Brandon Nimmo, who singled to trigger the incredible run that came next.
Jake Burger drove in two runs off a single with the bases loaded, as Josh Jung walked to set him up. Evan Carter would go on to drive in two off a triple, followed by Joc Pederson – who would’ve been hard to fathom this sentence about one season ago at a point – who capped off the historic inning with a three-run homer. Burger credited Nimmo for “breaking it open” for everyone to settle down and set the tone with that eight-run first.
It’s the first for Texas in 14 years, and according to Elias Sports Bureau, it’s the second-largest first inning ever when a team is coming off a no-hitter. The Chicago White Sox set that record in 1905 with nine runs.
To read more about the historic outing and the bounce back that showed grit by Texas, here is the full story from Rangers Roundtable writer Kane McCutchen.
Carter, who also homered and had four RBI – ending a 2-for-24 slump – put it best after the game, noting that the club is better than what they trotted out against Houston for the franchise’s fifth combined no-hitter. They took that message and ran with it.
