Surging Rangers Hit Five Homers in Win Over Stumbling Astros

The Texas Rangers are getting hot at the right time, and overtook the Houston Astros for the lead in the American League West this week. And the Astros, who have had the division lead for much of the season, have picked the wrong time to go cold.

On September 16th, Rangers hitters clubbed five home runs and handed Houston pitching ace Dallas Kuechel the loss in a 14-3 rout of the Astros in Arlington. It was the Rangers’ seventh win in their last 10 games, while the Astros lost their seventh in the last 10. Prince Fielder had two of the Rangers’ home runs:

The victory gave Texas a 1 ½ game lead in the division race. The Rangers have winning records both at home and on the road; while the Astros are an excellent 48-24 at home, they are just 29-45 on the road. From that standpoint, there may be help on the way. Houston will open a nine game home stand on September 18th, culminating with a three game set against the Rangers on September 25th-27th. They will close the regular season with three games at Seattle followed by three at Arizona.