EditorsNote: Ed 2: Change hed, tweaked 2nd graf after Astros clinched playoff berth with Angels loss
Isiah Kiner-Falefa scored on a Joey Gallo fielder's choice grounder and the host Texas Rangers rallied to stun the Houston Astros 5-4 in 10 innings on Friday night in Arlington, Texas.
By blowing one-run leads in the ninth and 10th innings, the Astros (29-29) failed to earn the final American League postseason bid on their own, but they clinched the spot later in the evening thanks to the Los Angeles Angels' 9-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Houston third baseman Alex Bregman lifted the Astros to a 4-3 lead with his sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th, before the Rangers scored twice off Astros right-hander Enoli Paredes (3-3). Gallo delivered the grounder off lefty Brooks Raley.
The Rangers (20-38) got off the mat with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning when first baseman Ronald Guzman smacked a game-tying home run with two strikes off Astros closer Ryan Pressly. The Astros were one strike away from clinching a postseason berth before Guzman launched a curveball into the right-field seats to tie the game at 3-3 and force extras.
Yuli Gurriel, mired in a 3-for-38 slump, put the Astros up 3-2 in the eighth when he lined the first pitch from Rangers right-hander Jonathan Hernandez the opposite way to right field, scoring Jose Altuve.
Astros right-hander Jose Urquidy wasn't as dominant as he was in his previous start against the Rangers this season, with Texas catcher Sam Huff singularly responsible for troubling Urquidy.
Huff drilled two solo homers off Urquidy, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead with his 390-foot shot to left-center in the second before helping Texas reclaim a one-run lead with his leadoff shot in the fifth. Huff turned on an Urquidy slider for his first homer before smacking a four-seam fastball 372 feet to right. Both Huff homers, his second and third this season, came on 1-1 counts.
Urquidy limited the Rangers to one run on three hits over seven innings in Houston on Sept. 15. He worked seven innings again on Friday, allowing two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Urquidy did not walk a batter against the Rangers over 14 innings this season.
Rangers rookie right-hander Kyle Cody worked five solid innings, surrendering one run on three hits and three walks over five innings. George Springer lined a run-scoring triple, his second of the season, that scored Carlos Correa in the fifth inning and pulled the Astros even at 1-1.
--Field Level Media
