Astros' win vs. Rangers, Seattle loss at Cincinnati puts Houston into a tie for AL West lead
Relief pitcher Ryne Stanek was carted off in the bottom of the ninth inning after an injury while covering first base.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Mauricio Dubon and Jose Altuve hit back-to-back home runs twice on Monday in Arlington, but it was a big six-run seventh inning that put Houston up for good in a 13-6 victory against the Texas Rangers.
Houston (78-61) opened its final regular season series with Texas tied with the Rangers a half-game back of the AL West-leading Seattle Mariners. But after Monday's victory and a convenient Seattle loss in Cincinnati, the Astros moved into a tie for the division lead.
Astros starter JP France allowed a two-run home run in the first inning and an RBI single in the third to put Houston in an early 3-0 hole.
It wasn't until the fifth inning that the Astros started putting runs on the board, with Jeremy Peña's RBI single and an Alex Bregman hit to send two runners home, tying the game, 3-3.
After a Corey Seager home run for the Rangers in the next half-inning, Houston would get the lead for the first time in the afternoon at 5-4, thanks to Dubon and Altuve launching round-trippers in the sixth inning.
After another Texas home run tied the game again in the next half-inning, the Astros went off on their AL West rivals by taking advantage of a bases-loaded situation.
A walk scored a go-ahead run, followed by an error that scored two more runs. Then, catcher Yanier Diaz launched a 453-foot home run to score three runs and extend the lead to 11-5.
The Astros went on to score two more runs through another back-to-back home-run sequence by Dubon and Altuve, who were at the bottom and top of the batting order, respectively.
Monday marked Dubon's first career multi-home run game in his four seasons in the majors. The win also clinches the Lone Star Series for the Astros, who stand at 7-4 this season against Texas with two more games to go.
However, the victory was marred in the bottom of the ninth inning when relief pitcher Ryne Stanek had to be carted off the field. Stanek appeared to have injured his right foot while covering first base.
Stanek remained on the ground after he fell back hard and his foot turned awkwardly.
Astros manager Dusty Baker said Stanek was still being evaluated.
"I did see the still (photo) afterwards. Boy, that looked ugly," Baker said. "I'm just hoping nothing is broken and nothing is structurally wrong. We have to see, because he could be out a while."
The Astros will bid to put more separation between them and the Rangers during the second game of a three-game series Tuesday night.
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