Rangers 12, Astros 9
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Adrian Beltre highlighted a wild offensive night by hitting for the cycle, leading the Texas Rangers to a crazy 12-9 win over Houston Astros on Monday.
Beltre didn't take much time to complete his third career cycle, capping the feat with a solo home run off Houston's Mike Fiers in the fifth inning. Beltre hit a two-run triple in a six-run first for the Rangers, doubled in the second and singled in a five-run third inning.
Beltre is now tied for the most career cycles in the major leagues, matching the total posted by John Reilly, Bob Meusel and Babe Herman. He is the first to complete a cycle in five innings since Melvin Upton Jr. did it with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2009.
Beltre finished the night 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs. The Rangers needed all the offense they could get as the Astros wouldn't go away despite Texas batting around twice in the first three innings.
The Rangers led 11-3 in the third inning after scoring five runs off Fiers, who was scheduled to start Tuesday's game but entered early after Astros starter Lance McCullers was knocked out in the first.
The Astros came back in the fourth inning as catcher Jason Castro launched a grand slam to right off Texas starter Colby Lewis.
Lewis (12-4) hung around long enough for the win, allowing seven runs on 10 hits in six innings. McCullers retired just one batter in a first inning in which the Rangers sent 11 batters to the plate. He gave up seven hits and six runs.
Texas had 15 hits, with five players having at least two RBIs and eight scoring runs. Five Rangers also had two hits, with second baseman Rougned Odor, designated hitter Prince Fielder and first baseman Mitch Moreland each collecting two hits and two RBIs.
Houston, which had 13 hits, got as close as 12-9 after a two-run double from right fielder Colby Rasmus in seventh inning.
Neither team wasted any time getting going offensively, especially Beltre.
After the Astros scored twice in the top of the first on a two-run homer by shortstop Carlos Correa, the Rangers countered with six runs in the bottom of the inning of McCullers.
Beltre had a two-run triple and right fielder Shin-Soo Choo had a two-run homer to right. The Rangers came back with five runs in the third off Fiers.
The big third, which included a two-run triple from Odor, pushed the Texas lead to 11-3. Castro's slam cut the deficit to 11-7.
Beltre's homer off Fiers with one out in the fifth put Texas up 12-7.
NOTES: Houston LHP Scott Kazmir was named the American League pitcher of the month after posting a 0.26 ERA with the A's and Astros in the month. ... Texas C Robinson Chirinos got an injection in his left shoulder Monday to try to accelerate the healing process of a strained left shoulder. Chirinos hopes to start throwing again Tuesday. ... Houston RHP Collin McHugh is now a 20-game winner over the last year. McHugh's win Sunday made him 20-5 since Aug. 1, 2014, which gives him the major league lead in wins over that span. ... Texas LHP Martin Perez threw 76.3 percent of his pitches for strikes in a 2-1 victory over San Francisco on Sunday. That is the highest strike percentage for a Texas starter with a minimum of 80 pitches since Colby Lewis threw 77.2 percent on June 6, 2012.