Astros Ride Statement Sweep of Texas Rangers up Power Rankings

Not only were the Texas Rangers swept by the Houston Astros, the beatdown was historic.

The Rangers were outscored by 29 runs in the three games (39-10) and surrendered a record 16 home runs. That was the most ever given up by the franchise in three games and the most ever hit by Astros over the same stretch.

The previous records were 12 long balls allowed by Texas and 13 launched by Houston.

The Astros also have at least five homers in three straight games to match the longest such streak in MLB history, per MLB’s Sarah Langs. The New York Yankees did it in 2019 and 2020, and the Boston Red Six did so in 1977.

Houston’s flex in Arlington was noted in the latest MLB Power Rankings from ESPN’s panel of baseball experts. The Astros ticked up one spot to No. 5, jumping over the No. 6 Seattle Mariners. The Rangers, despite losing three in a row and six of seven, remained at No. 7.

Per ESPN:

Nathan Eovaldi’s return from injury was nothing short of a disaster. He lasted just 1 1/3 innings Tuesday against the Astros, giving up four runs on five hits including two home runs. The formerly dominant Dane Dunning didn’t fare much better in relief as the Rangers are suddenly in jeopardy of missing the playoffs. Their pitching staff needs to right the ship after a brutal week – they ranked last in ERA over the past seven days and will need Eovaldi to lock in as soon as possible.

Texas starting pitchers are winless (0-7) in the team’s last 19 games, the longest such streak in club history, after Max Scherzer took a loss Wednesday. The previous mark was 17 games during the 2013 season.

The Rangers (76-63) have also fallen out of the Wild Card position, trailing the Toronto Blue Jays by a half-game for the last spot. The Red Sox are 4.5 games behind Texas.

The Blue Jays, Mariners and Red Sox all remain on their schedule – including Seattle seven times before the end of the season. Those head-to-head matchups will likely determine the Rangers’ fate in October, which seemed like a lock for most of the season. That’s no longer the case.

The Rangers open a three-game series against the AL West rival Oakland Athletics on Friday night at Globe Life Field.

You can follow Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92.

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