ARLINGTON, Texas — Joc Pederson broke a tie with a two-run home run in the sixth inning, Wyatt Langford hit a solo shot in a two-run seventh and the Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros 5-1 on Saturday night.
Tyler Mahle (5-1) allowed the one run over six innings, keeping his ERA at 1.47 — ranking third in the AL.
The Rangers have taken two of the first three games of the four-game series.
Pederson, hitting .123 with four RBI to that point as Texas' primary DH this season, followed Marcus Semien's one-out single off Ronel Blanco (3-4) with a drive to right-center for his second homer of the season.
Langford's homer off Bennett Sousa immediately followed Josh Smith's sacrifice fly that scored Sam Haggerty. Haggerty led off with a walk and was picked off first base, but he reached third when first baseman Christian Walker threw low to second base.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead four batters in when Walker hit a 3-2 fastball for an opposite-field double to score Isaac Paredes.
Texas tied it in the third when Langford singled home Kyle Higashioka, who walked and reached third on Haggerty's ground-rule double.
The Astros left seven runners on base and were 0 for 4 hitting with runners in scoring position.
