Ramos pitches Rangers past Astros
HOUSTON -- Cesar Ramos earned his first win on the season and the Texas Rangers claimed a second consecutive pitcher's duel victory over the Houston Astros with a 2-1 win on Saturday night at Minute Maid Park.
Ramos (1-2) allowed one run on two hits and one walk with four strikeouts over six innings. He needed just 80 pitches to work those six frames and pitch effectively enough to hand a lead to the Texas bullpen.
The trio of Matt Bush, Jake Diekman and Sam Dyson didn't waste the opportunity, with Bush pumping high-90s fastball by the Astros (17-27) in the seventh inning before Diekman worked a perfect eighth inning.
Dyson emerged in the ninth and earned his fourth save by handling the top of the Houston order, recording groundball outs from Jose Altuve and George Springer before striking out Carlos Correa.
The Rangers (24-19) won by the same score in the opener on Friday night, improved to 5-0 against the Astros this season, and set the stage for a sweep with ace Cole Hamels starting Sunday.
One night after recording his first extra-base hit following a 10-game drought without one, Elvis Andrus produced his first home run on the season. His full-count solo shot to left field off Astros right-hander Mike Fiers with two outs in the second inning provided Texas a 1-0 lead.
An inning later, the Rangers doubled that advantage, with Rougned Odor drilling a single off the right-field wall to plate catcher Bryan Holaday, who doubled with one out one at-bat earlier. Odor unwisely attempted to stretch his single into a double and was easily erased by an accurate throw from right fielder George Springer to Jose Altuve.
The Astros mustered a response in the bottom of the third, with Marwin Gonzalez blasting a 411-foot home run to center field, his fourth on the season to slice the deficit in half.
Houston had threatened Ramos with several loud flyouts, but it wasn't until Gonzalez went deep that those threats materialized.
NOTES: Astros manager A.J. Hinch acknowledged curiosity about RHP Michael Feliz returning to a starting role, particularly after he worked three perfect innings with six strikeouts on Friday night. Feliz has improved markedly while worked exclusively out of the bullpen this season. He has made 14 starts in the minors since the start of last season. ... Rangers RF Shin-Soo Choo remains day-to-day after departing in the third inning on Friday night with a tight left hamstring. Choo was making his first start following a 35-game stint on the disabled list (right calf strain). He reported in improvement on Saturday but remains sidelined as a precaution. ... Astros CF Carlos Gomez (bruised left ribcage) will serve as both a designated hitter and work in the field when he starts his rehab assignment on Monday with Double A Corpus Christi.