Chris Carter led off two innings with home runs, George Springer had one inning-starting long ball and the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 8-3 on Tuesday night.
Jose Altuve had two hits, two stolen bases and a sacrifice fly. The All-Star second baseman matched Houston's franchise record with 28 consecutive stolen bases without being caught while pushing his AL-leading total to 41. He leads the American League with 126 hits and a .341 batting average.
Houston went ahead to stay with two runs in the first inning off Phil Irwin (0-1) who was making his Rangers debut.
Brad Peacock (3-5) struck out five while allowing two runs and six hits over 5 2-3 innings.
Except for 21 days, and none past mid-April in either of their two seasons since switching leagues, the Astros have been at the bottom of the five-team AL West. After taking the first two of this three-game set, they are within a game of fourth-place Texas, which has lost nine of its last 10 games -- and 17 of 20.
