HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Jose Urquidy earned the first win of his Major League career, allowing just one run on two hits over seven innings as the Astros won their fourth straight game, beating the Texas Rangers 6-1.
Urquidy struck out nine without walking anyone, retiring 21 of the 23 hitters he faced. He sent down the first nine he faced before Shin-Soo Choo sent a 2-2 changeup over the centerfield wall. A 2-out single in the seventh by Hunter Pence was the only other Rangers hit against the Astros starter.
Ariel Jurado matched Urquidy during the game's first two innings, but the Astros got to him in the third. Myles Straw doubled to start the inning, and he scored the game's first run when George Springer doubled off the top of the wall in left-centerfield. Then with one-out, Michael Brantley made it 2-0 with an RBI double of his own. After Choo's homer, Houston increased the lead in the fifth with a two-out rally. Brantley and Yordan Alvarez singled before Yuli Gurriel smoked a first pitch slider for his 18th home run of the season, and 13th in his last 21 games, making it 5-1 Astros.
Jurado was done after five innings of work, giving way to Phillips Valdez. The second man he faced, Tony Kemp, dumped an 0-2 fastball into the Crawford boxes for his seventh homer, increasing the Astros lead to 6-1.
The Astros didn't score again, but they didn't need to as Chris Devenski followed Urquidy and struck out the side in the eighth, and Hector Rondon tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the Rangers sixth straight loss.
Brantley finished the game with three and an RBI, while Straw added a pair of knocks.
The Astros will go for the sweep of the weekend series against their in-state rivals Sunday when Rogelio Armanteros starts opposite Lance Lynn.