HOUSTON (Interstat) — The Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 on Saturday at Daikin Park, evening the two-game series. Attendance was 32,315, and the game lasted 2 hours, 28 minutes. Houston scored two runs in the first inning and two more in the fourth, building a 4-0 lead. Texas broke through in the seventh on a single by Joc Pederson that drove in Jake Burger. Kai-Wei Teng (2-3) earned the win with five shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out seven. Jacob deGrom (3-3) took the loss, allowing five hits and four earned runs with four strikeouts over six innings. Bryan Abreu recorded his second save with 1 1/3 innings, allowing one hit. Yordan Alvarez, Christian Walker and Zach Cole each hit solo home runs for Houston. The Astros bullpen combined for three scoreless innings in relief, with Steven Okert, Bryan King and AJ Blubaugh also tossing shutout frames. The Rangers, who managed six hits to Houston’s five and got two scoreless innings from Cal Quantrill, fell to 21-24. The Astros improved to 19-28.

HOUSTON (Interstat) — The Houston Astros used a pair of two-run innings built on home runs Saturday night, defeating the Texas Rangers 4-1 at Daikin Park in front of 32,315 in a game that finished in 2 hours, 28 minutes. Kai-Wei Teng delivered five scoreless innings for the Astros, allowing two hits while striking out seven to improve to 2-3. Jacob deGrom took the loss for Texas, falling to 3-3 after allowing four earned runs on five hits over six innings. Bryan Abreu recorded his second save of the season with a scoreless ninth. Houston struck first in the bottom of the first inning against deGrom. Jose Altuve led off with a solo home run to left field, his fourth of the season, tying the game at 1-1. Two batters later, Yordan Alvarez launched his 15th home run of the year to right field, giving the Astros a 2-1 lead. DeGrom struck out Christian Walker and Braden Shewmake to limit the damage, but the Astros had already established control. The Rangers mounted a threat in the top of the second inning against Teng. Evan Carter walked and Alejandro Osuna singled, putting runners at first and second with one out. Jake Burger struck out, but Danny Jansen was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Carter attempted to score on a play at the plate but was thrown out by catcher Christian Vázquez to end the inning. Texas again put runners in scoring position in the fourth inning. After Josh Jung struck out, Carter walked for the second time. Ezequiel Duran singled to put runners at first and second. Alejandro Osuna grounded out, advancing both runners into scoring position with two outs, but Burger grounded out to second base to end the inning. Houston answered in the bottom of the fourth with another two-run outburst. Christian Walker led off with a solo home run to left center, his 11th of the season, extending the lead to 3-1. After Shewmake popped out and Brice Matthews flied out, Zach Cole hit his third home run of the year to right field, making it 4-1. The Astros’ defense and bullpen preserved the lead. Teng worked through the fifth inning without issue, and the Rangers stranded runners again in the fifth when Joc Pederson walked and Brandon Nimmo flew out before Josh Jung grounded into a forceout. Texas finally broke through against Astros reliever Enyel De Los Santos in the seventh inning. Jake Burger led off with a single deflected by shortstop Braden Shewmake. Justin Foscue followed with a single to center, and Pederson singled to center, scoring Burger to cut the deficit to 4-2. Pederson’s single was the third hit of the inning and gave Texas its only run. Nimmo lined out, Jung walked to load the bases, and pinch-hitter Andrew McCutchen flew out to center to end the threat. The Rangers put two more runners on in the eighth inning against Steven Okert and Bryan King. Burger walked and Jansen walked, but Justin Foscue flew out to right field to end the inning. In the ninth inning against Abreu, Pederson walked and McCutchen singled to put the tying run on base. Ezequiel Duran grounded into a forceout at second base to end the game. The game was the second of a three-game series between the Texas rivals. The Astros won the series opener Friday night, 2-0. Texas entered Saturday with a 21-24 record and Houston with a 19-28 record. Key performances included Teng’s control, the home runs by Altuve, Alvarez, Walker and Cole, and the Astros’ bullpen work. AJ Blubaugh pitched two-thirds of an inning without allowing a hit. Steven Okert struck out two in a perfect eighth. Bryan King retired the only two batters he faced. Enyel De Los Santos, despite giving up three hits and the Rangers’ only run, recorded the final out of the seventh inning. The Rangers had six hits on the night, led by Pederson’s single and McCutchen’s single. The Astros managed only five hits, but four went for home runs. Texas will look to avoid a sweep Sunday in the series finale before traveling to Colorado for a three-game set against the Rockies. Houston will host the Rangers again Sunday before heading to Minnesota for a series with the Twins. Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Texas 4, Houston 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Texas a 52.00 percent probability to win. Texas was installed as the pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The combined score of 5 went over the over/under line of 8.

HOUSTON (Interstat) — The Houston Astros look to build on a slim winning streak Saturday night when they host the Texas Rangers at Daikin Park, aiming to salvage a series split after a 2-0 victory in the opener Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. under partly cloudy skies with temperatures near 81 degrees. The Rangers (21-22) hold a slim edge over the last-place Astros (17-28) in the American League West standings, but Houston has struggled mightily, dropping eight of its last 10 games. Texas, meanwhile, has won four of its past five, including a 6-5 victory Wednesday over Arizona. Texas right-hander Kumar Rocker is a key figure to watch. The 25-year-old has been inconsistent in his past five starts but enters fresh off his strongest outing of the month. On Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, Rocker pitched five innings, allowing three hits and no earned runs with three strikeouts in a no-decision. He followed that with a 3 2/3-inning, three-earned-run loss to the Cubs on May 8. Over his previous three starts, Rocker surrendered 11 earned runs on 16 hits across 10 innings. For Houston, designated hitter Yordan Alvarez remains the lineup’s most dangerous threat despite a recent cold spell. Over his last seven games, Alvarez is 7-for-24 (.292) with two home runs and three RBIs. He went 3-for-3 with a homer and an RBI in Thursday’s 8-3 loss to Seattle but was held hitless in three of his previous four contests. The Astros’ offense has been quiet overall, averaging just 2.8 runs over their past seven games while losing six of them. Houston pitchers have allowed 47 runs in that same span. Texas counters with a balanced attack. First baseman Jake Burger drove in four runs Wednesday, including a home run, and the Rangers have scored at least six runs in three of their past four wins. According to Interstat’s game simulator, the projected final score is Texas 4, Houston 3. The ELO system gives the Rangers a 52.00% probability of victory. Texas is installed as a -1.5 favorite on the run line, with an over/under of 8 runs. Following Saturday’s contest, the teams meet again Sunday to close the series before the Rangers travel to Colorado for a three-game set. The Astros head to Minnesota for a three-game series starting Monday.