Choice and Odor HRs lead Rangers over Astros 13-6

KRISTIE RIEKEN
AP Sports Writer

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros didn’t have much to say about their lopsided loss to the Texas Rangers on Friday night other than that they’d like to forget about it as soon as possible.

Michael Choice and Rougned Odor both hit three-run homers and the Rangers cruised to a 13-6 win over the Astros.

“We just have to look at this night just like we didn’t pitch too well; we just didn’t have it early and they jumped out to a pretty big lead,” manager Bo Porter said. “All you can do is put it behind you and come back tomorrow.”

Houston starter Brett Oberholtzer (4-10) allowed nine hits and a career-high seven runs in 4 1-3 innings, in his second-shortest start of the year.

“Everything was falling, and I just wasn’t hitting my spots,” Oberholtzer said. “And they were putting a pretty good swing on the ball; they were being very aggressive and they put some pretty good swings on it.”

The Rangers were up by two in the fourth inning when Choice launched his ninth home run into the Crawford Boxes in left field to push the lead to 6-1. Odor connected in a five-run seventh inning with a shot to the seats in right field to make it 13-1.

Adam Rosales and Elvis Andrus added two RBIs each for the Rangers, who have the worst record in the American League and have won just five of 14 meetings with the Astros this season.

Ryan Rua made his major league debut and became the 59th player the injury-decimated Rangers have used this season, tying the major league record set by the Padres in 2002 and 2008 and Indians in 2002. He got his first hit with a single in the seventh inning.

Scott Baker (3-3) allowed six hits and two runs in 6 1-3 innings for his second straight win.

Jason Castro hit a solo homer in the seventh inning after hitting a grand slam in Houston’s 4-2 win in the series opener on Thursday night. Jose Altuve had two hits for the Astros to give him a major league-leading 184.

Houston center fielder Dexter Fowler was shaken up in a collision with right fielder Jake Marisnick in the first inning, but remained in the game. Porter said he took an elbow to the bridge of his nose, but that he should be OK.

Marisnick made a nifty play for the first two outs of that inning when he caught a fly ball from Alex Rios in right field and threw to third base to pick off Andrus.

Rios had a double in his return to the lineup after missing two games with a swollen right thumb.

Fowler tied it at 1-all with an RBI single in the first inning, but was out at second trying to stretch it into a double. Houston added three runs in the ninth when Marwin Gonzalez hit a two-RBI double and a third run scored on an error on the play.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rangers: LHP Derek Holland, who has been on the disabled list all season after left knee surgery, will come off the disabled list and start on Tuesday at Kansas City. … OF Shin-Soo Choo had arthroscopic surgery on Friday to remove a bone spur from his left elbow. He is expected to be able to return to baseball activities for workouts by Nov. 1.

Astros: OF Robbie Grossman was out of the lineup after turning his left ankle on Wednesday night. Grossman said he was feeling better on Friday and they’re waiting for the swelling in his ankle to subside before he returns. … Reliever Darin Downs (strained muscle on his right side) struck out three in a scoreless inning in the first game of a rehabilitation assignment at Double-A Corpus Christi.

UP NEXT

Miles Mikolas was scratched after the game from his scheduled start on Saturday with right shoulder fatigue. The Rangers will recall Robbie Ross from Triple-A Round Rock to start in his place against Scott Feldman.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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