José Abreu’s grand slam in the third inning was Houston’s third homer against Texas starter Max Scherzer, who was done soon after that, and Abreu added a three-run blast as the Astros went on for a 12-3 victory over the slumping Rangers on Wednesday night to complete a sweep in the pivotal three-game AL West series.
“It really wasn’t about making a statement. It was more about winning games and trying to get into first place,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “You love to see your offense come alive like that. We got some good pitching performances. We played an excellent series.”
The sweep put the reigning World Series champion Astros (80-61) in sole possession of the AL West lead for the first time all season, a game ahead of Seattle.