Rangers 3, Astros 2
Adrian Beltre hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning and host Texas sent Houston to its 11th consecutive defeat.
Geovany Soto had a pair of hits and an RBI and Ian Kinsler had run-scoring single as the Rangers beat the Astros for the 10th straight time to remain one game behind Cleveland for the second wild card. Houston lost its 107th game to match the franchise record set last season.
Neal Cotts (6-3) got the win with one scoreless inning in relief of starter Yu Darvish, who struck out nine and allowed two runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings. Jason Frasor escaped a two-on, two-out jam in the eighth before Joe Nathan secured his 41st save.
Matt Dominguez hit his 21st homer but it wasn't enough to keep the Astros from falling to 2-16 against Texas this season. Brad Peacock (5-6) struck out seven and gave up three runs on six hits in six innings.
Soto and Kinsler had run-scoring singles in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively, to put the Rangers ahead 2-1. Dominguez tied it with a solo shot in the top of the sixth but Beltre clubbed his 29th in the bottom of the frame to reclaim the lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Beltre's blast was his first since Aug. 28, ending a homerless drought of 93 at-bats - his longest since 2009. ... Dominguez has only three hits off Darvish but all three have been homers. ... Darvish boosted his major league-leading strikeout total to 269, and the 15 whiffs notched by Texas moved the Astros within 37 of tying Arizona's single-season record of 1,529 set in 2010.