Jake Odorizzi allowed a stroke over six innings to end a long drought without a win, and a rejuvenated Kyle Tucker homerated and drove in three races to drive the Houston Astros past the Texas Rangers 5-1 Tuesday night.
Odorizzi (1-2) allowed only two base runners and won for the first time in 10 starts since August last year. He came in with a 9.00 ERA and had given up 16 hits in nine innings during his first three starts this season.
The only blow from Odorizzi was a home run by Adolis Garcia in the second. The right-hander threw just 78 pitches, putting the Rangers at just eight in the first inning and eight again in the fourth.
Tucker started season 4 for 46 (.087) but is 7 for 17 (.412) ago. He is 4 for 8 with four RBIs in the first two games in the four-game series.
Houston scored three runs in the fourth to open a 1-all game.
Garcia helped the Astros to their first run of the second when he misjudged a line drive by Yordan Alvarez that went over his head in midfield for a double. Alvarez advanced on a wild course and scored on a single by Jeremy Pena.
In the bottom half, Garcia compensated for the foul play with a move over the left field fence to equalize it. Eight of his 34 career homers in 190 games have come in 19 games against Houston.
The Astros won their first replay review of the season as they took a 4-1 lead in the fourth against starter Taylor Hearn (0-2).
Singles by Alex Bregman and Alvarez placed runners in first and third place. Bregman scored on what was first judged as a double-play grounder, but the replay review showed Yuli Gurriel beat the throw in the first half. It became even more beneficial for Houston as Tucker followed with a two-run homer.
Tucker ran in another race with a grounder in the sixth.
COACH’S ROOM
Astros: 2B Jose Altuve (tense left hind thigh) “did everything baseball-related that you could do,” manager Dusty Baker said. “He hit, he ran. (Wednesday) he wants to do something more. We have to see how he gets out of it.” … Alvarez was the designated hitter. Baker said the Astros want to keep him away from Globe Life Fields artificial turf after he insulted a ball from his right shin on Monday. Baker indicated that Alvarez would return to the road on Wednesday.
Rangers: RHP Josh Sborz (right elbow soreness), who is eligible to come off the list of 10-day injured, threw live batting training.
UP AND DOWN
The Astros appointed RHP Pedro Baez to task and recalled RHP Seth Martinez. In the second year of a two-year contract, Baez was 0-0 with an ERA of 11.57 in 2 1/3 innings. Martinez, who made his major league debut with three games in September last year, was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in six relief games for Triple-A Sugar Land.
NEXT
Astros: RHP Cristian Javier (0-0, 0.00 ERA) is scheduled for his first start after 8 1/3 pointless innings in his first three appearances in 2022.
Rangers: Texas send RHP Glenn Otto (1-0, 1.80) out against Houston for its second major league start this season.