Martín Pérez pitched his first shutout since 2014, scattering seven singles as the Texas Rangers beat Houston 3-0 Friday night, ending the Astros’ nine-game home winning streak.
It was the first complete-game shutout for Texas since Kyle Gibson beat the Astros 1-0 on Sept. 16, 2020.
Pérez (3-2) struck out five, walked one and threw 108 pitches. The 31-year-old lefty won his third straight start and has a 1.64 ERA in eight outings this season.
Pérez last threw a shutout on April 23, 2014, against Oakland. He spent his first seven seasons with Texas and later played for Minnesota and Boston before rejoining the Rangers this year.
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Pérez retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced before Jeremy Peña got Houston’s first hit in the fifth with a two-out single.
With two outs in the Houston ninth, Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker singled. But Pérez got Yuli Gurriel on a flyout to left field to end it.
The Rangers snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Astros in Houston, winning for the first time at Minute Maid Park since Sept. 16, 2020.
Texas Rangers - World Series Champions
Kole Calhoun gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the fourth with a home run.
The Rangers tacked on two more runs in the eighth. Mitch Garver scored on an errant throw to third by reliever Rafael Montero on a bunt attempt by Eli White. Two batters later, Marcus Semien added an RBI single.
Cristian Javier (2-2) yielded one run on three hits with a career-high tying nine strikeouts in six innings. Javier rebounded nicely after being tagged for seven runs in 3 2/3 innings in his last outing against the Nationals on Saturday.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: RHP Jake Odorizzi, who was placed on the injured list on Tuesday, played catch prior to Friday’s game. Odorizzi was not wearing a boot four days after he injured his lower left leg and fell to the ground.
ROSTER MOVES
The Rangers recalled RHP Rick Snyder from Triple-A Round Rock and optioned RHP Josh Sborz to Round Rock.
UP NEXT
Houston RHP Justin Verlander (5-1, 1.38 ERA) will be looking for his sixth straight victory when he starts Saturday against Texas RHP Jon Gray (1-1, 5.73).
