ARLINGTON -- Runs, as manager Bruce Bochy always says, were at a premium on Saturday night. At least they were early.
Both the Rangers and the Astros sent their aces to the mound, two guys in Jacob deGrom and Hunter Brown who seem to be on the peripherals of an American League Cy Young Award chase dominated by reigning winner Tarik Skubal.
And well, you can’t win if you don’t score.
deGrom was clearly frustrated with his own performance, allowing three runs in 5 1/3 innings of work. But Brown shut down the Rangers offense for six innings before the bullpen ultimately sunk them to an 11-0 loss to even the three-game set at Globe Life Field after Houston blew it wide open late.
That’s the 14th time the Rangers have been shut out this season, which is tied for the third most in MLB.
It’s their largest shutout defeat since May 15, 2023, against the Braves (12-0) and the first time being shut out by the Astros since Sept. 5, 2022, in Houston (1-0). It’s also the first time the Rangers have been blanked by the Astros at home since July 1, 2006, (7-0).
“Hunter went out there and threw the ball well, and I wasn't able to match him,” deGrom said. “So tonight is on me. I made some mistakes in the middle of the plate. They made me pay for it. … Like I said, I needed to go out and match him by putting up zeros and giving us a chance. Yeah, I was frustrated.”
Most of the damage for deGrom came on a pair of solo homers from Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker, which marked his seventh time yielding multiple home runs this year. He’s one shy of a career high (eight games started with two or more homers allowed in 2017 with NYM).
The Rangers are 4-10 when deGrom permits one or more home runs this season versus 10-3 when he does not allow a homer.
“The goal with pitching is to eliminate mistakes and hit your spots,” deGrom reiterated. “Right now, when I make a mistake, I'm having to pay for it. It's frustrating. I don't like giving up runs. The goal is to go up there and put up zeros. And I wasn't able to do that.”
deGrom can shoulder the blame all he wants, but three runs in 5 1/3 innings is more than enough to give his team a chance to win.
The Astros blew the game open against the Rangers bullpen in the eighth inning, but deGrom and reliever Cole Winn were able to keep things within striking distance for as long as possible.
No striking took place.
Brown was dominant, but the Rangers offense went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight runners on base. Texas squandered opportunity after opportunity before completely shutting down in the final four innings of the night. Texas only had one baserunner -- a Josh Smith walk -- over that time.
“We had a couple of good opportunities,” Bochy said. “Bases loaded, one out [in the second inning], and we couldn't cash in. First and second, nobody out [in the fifth inning], just couldn't cash in. Brown was tough when he had to be. You do what you try to do and create those chances. We just couldn't get somebody to come through.”
The Rangers are now 1-for-37 with runners in scoring position dating back to Tuesday night in a loss to the Diamondbacks. The lone hit was Dustin Harris’ walk-off double in the 12th inning in the series opener against the Astros on Friday night.
With the loss, the Rangers dropped to 1 1/2 games behind Seattle for the final AL Wild Card spot.
“Really, [every game is] no different,” Bochy said. “Any game that you lose, you gotta come back to show up tomorrow and do what we can to win the ballgame and get some runs on the board. [Today] just got ugly there. … That's what it's about, bouncing back. They've done a great job of it. We gotta come out here, do what we can to win a baseball game.”