17-31 - Bats fail to show up in Houston, Texas falls 4-1 to Astros in opener

The Texas Rangers scored one run and the Houston Astros scored four runs.

The Rangers trailed 1-0 after the first inning — a staple of a 2020 Rangers game. From there, Texas reached base a grand total of four times tonight and three of those instances came via singles in the top of the fifth inning until Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a two-out single in the top of the ninth.

Despite the inept evening at the dish, the trio of hits in the fifth produced a run which allowed Texas to stay in tonight’s game until the Astros broke through with the eventual game-winning runs in the bottom of the seventh. An eighth inning Martin Maldonado home run rounded out the scoring.

All things considered, the Rangers are pretty lucky to have gotten one on the board.

Player of the Game: Ronald Guzman had the RBI single to once again prevent the Rangers from getting shut out.

Up Next: The Rangers will continue their series against the Astros with Kyle Gibson on the mound for Texas opposite RHP Lance McCullers Jr. for Houston. Wednesday’s first pitch from Minute Maid Park is scheduled for 7:10 pm CT.