Astros Crush Rangers With Four-Homer Barrage Behind Teng

The Houston Astros didn’t need a masterclass in pitching or a grinding defensive battle on Saturday night. They needed exactly what they got: four home runs in the first four innings and enough offensive firepower to put the Texas Rangers away before the Rangers even knew what hit them. The final score of 4-1 tells the story of a team that came to play, and a visiting squad that came completely unprepared for the onslaught.

Jacob deGrom, still chasing ghosts of his former dominance, took the loss in what amounted to an early evening mauling at Daikin Park. The aging ace surrendered four runs on five hits in six innings, struck out four, and walked none, but those statistics mask a brutal reality: he was exposed by an Astros lineup that showed up swinging with purpose and precision. This wasn’t vintage deGrom. This was a pitcher who simply didn’t have the stuff on Saturday to keep Houston’s hitters honest.

The Home Run Parade Begins

Jose Altuve got things rolling in the bottom of the first with a solo shot to left, setting the tone immediately. Yordan Alvarez followed suit moments later with his own solo blast to right field, and suddenly the Rangers were chasing a 2-0 deficit before most fans had finished their first beer. This wasn’t going to be one of those nail-biters.

By the fourth inning, the damage was complete. Christian Walker, often overshadowed in Houston’s star-studded lineup, connected on a fly ball to left-center for his eleventh homer of the season. Then, in a moment that felt almost disrespectful, Zach Cole, a pitcher who has no business terrorizing opposing teams with his bat, launched one to right field for his third home run of the year. Four home runs through four innings. Game over.

Teng Does His Part

What made Saturday’s victory even more impressive was that Houston didn’t need dominant pitching to win convincingly. Kai-Wei Teng, the winning pitcher, threw just five innings while walking four batters. But he struck out seven and surrendered zero earned runs, which is exactly what a competent pitcher does when his offense spots him a 4-0 lead before he even breaks a sweat. Bryan Abreu came in to close it out with 1.1 innings of work, needing little more than a stiff breeze to push Rangers runners off base.

The Rangers managed exactly one run, scoring it in the seventh inning when Joc Pederson slapped a sharp single to center field to bring home Jake Burger. It was window dressing on an otherwise forgettable performance by a team that showed up to play a baseball game but forgot to bring their bats.

Saturday’s beatdown at Daikin Park wasn’t a masterpiece of baseball execution. It was simply one team showing up ready to swing the bats and another team getting steamrolled for it. The Astros have shown this season that when their lineup gets hot, they’re nearly impossible to stop. The Rangers learned that lesson the hard way.