Houston, TX – Yu Darvish flirted with a no-hitter as the streaking Texas Rangers edged the Houston Astros, 2-1.
Darvish (12-5) didn't allow a hit until Carlos Corporan launched a home run to right field with one out in the eighth inning.
The right-hander retired the first 17 batters he faced before issuing a walk in the sixth. Darvish, who recorded a career-high 15 strikeouts, was one out shy of a perfect game against Houston on April 2.
"It was pretty much similar stuff. Again, you are talking about a guy who has number one starter stuff and knows how to use it," said Houston manager Bo Porter in reference to Darvish's outing in April. "He doesn't just have control, he has command."
Joe Nathan picked up his 35th save of the season with a perfect ninth.
Adrian Beltre went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI for the Rangers, who have won eight straight games and nine of 10 on their road trip.
Houston starter Brett Oberholtzer (2-1) allowed two runs before exiting the game after 6 2/3 innings of work. He gave up seven hits and fanned six.
Texas' four-game sweep pushed the Astros' skid to six.
The Rangers picked up both of their runs in the first inning on three two-out hits. Ian Kinsler kept the frame alive with a double to left before being brought home on a Beltre double to center field. A.J. Pierzynski hit a soft liner that dropped into center to score Beltre.
After retiring 17 straight batters, Darvish had his bid for a perfect game denied in the sixth when he gave up a walk to Jonathan Villar. Pierzynski was thrown out of the game after arguing a questionable pitch that could've resulted in a strikeout to end the inning before Darvish threw ball four. Geovany Soto entered the game to take his place at catcher.
Game Notes
Darvish has won three consecutive starts ... Texas (9-1) claimed the best winning percentage on a road trip of seven or more games in team history ... The Rangers leads season series, 11-2.
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