Houston Astros rookie outfielder Zach Cole has been setting the MLB world on fire in the past few games. Cole, who was called up from the minors by the Astros, hit a two-run home run off Texas Rangers starter Jack Leiter and provided the Astros with a lead they never gave up.
In a key American League West Division series, Houston defeated Texas 6-3 on Monday night, sending the Rangers 3.5 games back in the AL West. The Astros moved to a half-game behind the idle Seattle Mariners in a race for the division title. Texas is now three games in back for an AL Wild Card spot, too.
Leiter pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up six runs (three earned) and five hits while walking one and striking out five. Astros starter Jason Alexander went 4 2/3 innings and gave up all three Rangers runs. Houston reliever Steven Okert picked up the win in relief and Bryan Abreu came on in the ninth for his sixth save this season.
The Astros jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but outfielder Yordan Alvarez turned his left ankle while running through a stop sign at third base.
Alvarez immediately started limping on his left leg and was able to make his way back to the Astros dugout. Later on, the Astros reported that Alvarez had suffered a left ankle sprain. His status for Tuesday's game is unknown at this time.
Josh Jung took an inside pitch from Alexander and turned on it, sending the pitch into the Crawford Boxes at Daikin Park. That two-run homer tied the game at 2-2 at that point.
Josh Smith later followed with an RBI single, giving the Rangers a 3-2 lead.
Cole came up in the bottom of the fifth and, with Jeremy Peña on base, took a Leiter pitch and slammed it over the left-field wall. That gave the Astros a 4-3 lead that they never relinquished.
In the top of the seventh, with Jonah Heim on base, Rowdy Tellez singled to right field with Heim moving to second. Cody Freeman then popped out for the second out.
Then, Wyatt Langford singled to left field. With Heim coming home, Astros left fielder Jesús Sánchez to threw a one-hop strike to catcher Yainer Diaz and Heim was out at the plate.
In the bottom of the seventh, Peña hit his 29th double and Sánchez, who doubled, scored and put Houston up 5-3. Cole then decided to add another RBI to his total, singling to right field and Peña scored for a 6-3 Astros lead.
The teams will play again on Tuesday night with the Rangers looking to even up the three-game series. Texas needs to pick up wins now if they want to keep their postseason hopes alive.