ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) _ Chris Carter led off two innings with home runs, George Springer had one inning-starting long ball and the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 8-3 on Tuesday night.
Jose Altuve had two hits, two stolen bases and a sacrifice fly. The All-Star second baseman matched Houston’s franchise record with 28 consecutive stolen bases without being caught while pushing his AL-leading total to 41. He leads the American League with 126 hits and a .341 batting average.
Houston went ahead to stay with two runs in the first inning off Phil Irwin who was making his Rangers debut.
Brad Peacock struck out five while allowing two runs and six hits over 5 2-3 innings.
Except for 21 days, and none past mid-April in either of their two seasons since switching leagues, the Astros have been at the bottom of the five-team AL West. After taking the first two of this three-game set, they are within a game of fourth-place Texas, which has lost nine of its last 10 games _ and 17 of 20.