Rangers collect 15 hits, lose to Astros in Perez's return
Looking at the hit totals alone for the both teams, one might think Friday's first game returning from the All-Star break was a high-scoring affair at Minute Maid Park. That, however, wasn't the case as the Texas Rangers managed to drive only two run across home plate despite 15 hits in a 3-2 loss to the Houston Astros.
Martin Perez, making his first start since May 2014 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, took the loss for Texas after allowing three runs on nine hits, along with two strikeouts over five innings.
"I did a good job," Perez said. "I made a couple mistakes, but that was probably adrenaline. I did my best to compete. It's different here than in Triple-A. You can't miss a pitch here. That's when you run into problems."
Rangers manager Jeff Banister also liked what he saw from his starting pitcher coming off a long journey back to the majors after over a year away from the mound.
"I felt positive about the performance from Martin," Banister said. "I thought he threw the ball well. It's been 14 months since he had been on a major league diamond."
While the Astros edged out the Rangers by the difference of one run, both teams had opportunities to put the game away, leaving a total of 16 runners stranded on base between the two clubs. Texas alone left 10 stranded on base.
"It's been our nemesis throughout this stretch... not being able to get the big hit when we need it," Banister said. "You have to believe if you put up 15 hits as a team, we are going to score some runs."
The Rangers didn't score until hitting their 11th hit of the night, a Mitch Moreland single in the sixth inning to right field that scored Adrian Beltre — who had also singled — after Astros outfielder Colby Rasmus overthrew first base for an error on the play. The Rangers added their second run of the game after Elvis Andrus doubled Moreland home in the eighth inning.
"It's only frustrating because we lost," Prince Fielder, who went 2 for 5 on the night, said. "That's the way things go sometimes."
Josh Hamilton, who missed a chance to break the game open for the Rangers early in the first inning grounding out with the bases loaded, believes the club can start scoring instead of leaving runners stranded if it can keep piling on the hits.
"You keep getting that many hits, eventually you can start scoring guys from second and third base," Hamilton said. "That's all you want to do. I mean, it is what it is. It sucks... but that's baseball."
Astros manager A.J. Hinch summed up the less-than-ideal game perfectly.
"That was incredible to have that many hits and not create any runs for them," Hinch said. "That wasn't your typical 3-2 game."
Follow Shawn Ramsey on Twitter: @ShawnPRamsey
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