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Major League Baseball
Houston 12, Texas 11
When: 2:05 PM ET, Monday, July 3, 2023
Where: Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home - Rob Drake, 1B - Bill Miller, 2B - Roberto Ortiz, 3B - Chad Whitson
Attendance: 38936

The visiting Houston Astros blew an eight-run lead then rallied in the ninth inning on RBI doubles from Jose Abreu and Chas McCormick for a wild 12-11 victory over the Texas Rangers on Monday at Arlington, Texas.

Houston won the four-game series 3-1 to pull within three games of the Rangers in the American League West race.

The Astros had a 10-2 lead going into the bottom of the fourth but found themselves trailing 11-10 in the ninth before Abreu and McCormick salvaged the day with their back-to-back doubles off Rangers closer Will Smith.

Abreu doubled off the left field wall as Kyle Tucker scored the game-tying run, then raced home on a double up the alley in left-center field by McCormick. McCormick delivered in the bottom of the ninth too, making a diving catch to rob a potential extra-base hit by the Rangers' Josh Jung for the second out.

Astros closer Ryan Pressly ended the game by striking out Jonah Heim for his 18th save. Houston right-hander Bryan Abreu (3-2) earned the win, allowing an unearned run in the eighth.

Smith (1-3) took the loss with his second blown save of the season.

The Astros appeared headed toward a rout, grabbing a 6-0 lead in the second off Rangers starter Martin Perez. McCormick and Yainer Diaz opened the inning with back-to-back solo home runs, and then Tucker sent a grand slam over the right-center-field fence.

The Astros extended their lead to 10-2 with four more runs in the top of the fourth, including a three-run blast by Abreu for the 250th homer of his career. The Rangers then chipped away at the lead.

Travis Jankowski hit a three-run home run in the fourth, then added a two-run single in what became a four-run fifth inning as the Rangers pulled to within 10-9. Jankowski finished with a career-high five RBIs.

The Rangers tied the game at 10-10 on a solo home run by Adolis Garcia in the seventh and took advantage of an error by the Astros' Alex Bregman to take an 11-10 lead in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Corey Seager.

The Astros' ninth-inning rally gave them five victories in their last six games.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Houston   Texas
Cristian Javier Player Martin Perez
No Decision W/L No Decision
4.1 IP 1.1
4 Strikeouts 0
9 Hits 6
16.62 ERA 40.50
Hitting
Houston   Texas
Kyle Tucker Player Travis Jankowski
4 Hits 3
4 RBI 5
1 HR 1
8 TB 6
1.000 Avg .750
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Houston 13 4 28 .325 15 7 12 3 1 3
Texas 12 3 22 .308 9 7 11 1 1 0