8-5 - Rangers jump out to Silver Boot lead with 6-2 win over Astros

The Texas Rangers scored six runs while the Houston Astros scored two runs.

The Rangers got off on the right foot for a Silver Boot fitting tonight as they bested the rival Astros in their first look at the division in 2023.

Starter Martin Perez wasn’t quite as efficient as he would have hoped but he worked around 5 hits and 4 walks with two solo home runs in his five innings to earn the victory.

The reasons Perez enjoyed the decision include a two-hit evening from Nathaniel Lowe with three RBIs, a bullpen trio of Dane Dunning, Will Smith, and Jose Leclerc combining to follow Perez with four shutout innings, and a some game-altering plays from Adolis Garcia.

The win allows Texas to return to a season high three games above .500 with a chance to hit a high water mark tomorrow.

Player of the Game: Astros killer El Bombi Garcia smacked a two-run dinger that turned a tight 1-0 game into a 3-0 margin that Houston wouldn’t overcome. Meanwhile he also made a nutty throw to double up the Astros after a difficult catch at the right field wall.

Up Next: The second game of this series sees RHP Jon Gray set to pitch for Texas against RHP Hunter Brown for Houston.

Saturday evening’s first pitch from Minute Maid Park is scheduled for 6:10 pm CT and can be viewed on BS Southwest or MLB Network.