Major League Baseball
Texas 7, Houston 5
When: 8:05 PM ET, Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Where: Globe Life Park in Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Temperature: 75°
Umpires: Home - Clint Fagan, 1B - Marvin Hudson, 2B - Bill Welke, 3B - D.J. Reyburn
Attendance: 24181

ARLINGTON, Texas -- It wasn't the prettiest of pitching performances for the Rangers as they began the Silver Boot Series against the Houston Astros, but the bottom line is, Texas got the win.

Starter Derek Holland lasted just five innings, setup man Keone Kela allowed two homers and closer Shawn Tolleson gave up a run in the ninth, but the offense more than made up for it in a 7-5 Rangers victory.

Texas never trailed in the game, setting the tone on a two-run homer from Prince Fielder off Scott Feldman (0-2) in the first inning. The Rangers then were able to answer every time the Astros tried to mount a rally.

"It was good momentum and it was good to keep winning, but that's just game one," said Holland, who threw 105 pitches and allowed two runs in his five innings while improving to 2-0. "Now we've got to go get the second one."

If the offense continues to produce as it did in a 12-hit attack Tuesday, it certainly is doable.

The Rangers got to Feldman for three runs in the first. After Houston countered with two in the second, Texas scored another in the third and two more in the sixth to take a 6-2 lead.

That made the back-to-back homers from Jose Altuve and George Springer in the seventh a little easier for the Rangers to stomach. Mitch Moreland's solo homer for the home team in the eighth provided a little more breathing room for the Rangers, who took 13 of 19 games from Houston last year on their way to the American League West title.

Tuesday's game was typical of many during the Astros' 5-9 start.

"I think our guys, just putting themselves in a hole a little bit and using a lot of pitches and a lot of taxing innings," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. "Things haven't come easy early in the season, early in the game, but for the most part, I believe they're going to come back and bounce back out of this."

Feldman was done in by a 41-pitch first inning that included an RBI single from Ian Desmond.

Houston came back to make it a 3-2 game in the second on RBI doubles from Carlos Gomez and Marwin Gonzalez. Feldman gave up another run in the third, and like Holland, was done after five innings with the Astros down 4-2.

RBI doubles from Elvis Andrus and Brett Nicholas in the sixth gave Texas breathing room.

The Rangers got production throughout the lineup. Desmond had his first two-hit game with Texas while Moreland, Andrus and Rougned Odor also had two-hit nights.

Desmond, who came into the game hitting .109, raised his average to .140.

"Obviously, in the most humble way I can say it, I've got no doubt I'm going to hit, but to be able to go out and help the team win, that's probably most important," Desmond said. "I feel like I've been, maybe in self-evaluation and being too hard on myself, I feel like I've kind of been a little bit of an anchor. Tonight it was nice to go out there and be able to contribute."

Feldman didn't feel as if he contributed enough, as he gave up six hits and four runs (three earned) in his five inning. He walked three and struck out one.

"I wasn't hitting my spots," the former Rangers starter said. "I just felt like command was an issue a little bit, for the whole game really. The three walks and things like that. I've got to be better next time."

NOTES: Texas C Chris Gimenez, on the disabled list all season due to a lower left leg infection, expects to head to Arizona for extending spring training games on Friday and begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Frisco on Monday. ... Texas OF Nomar Mazara produced 12 hits in his first seven games. The only player with more in Texas/Washington history is Del Unser, who had 13 with the Senators in 1968. ... Houston RHP Lance McCullers, sidelined all season with right shoulder issues, threw a bullpen Tuesday in Arlington and is slated to throw another one on Friday. He was scratched from a rehab start last weekend because of recovery issues from a prior rehab start. ... Houston continues to work with Evan Gattis at catcher. He hasn't caught in a game since he was with the Atlanta Braves in 2014.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Houston   Texas
Scott Feldman Player Derek Holland
Loss W/L Win
5.0 IP 5.0
1 Strikeouts 5
6 Hits 5
5.40 ERA 3.60
Hitting
Houston   Texas
George Springer Player Elvis Andrus
2 Hits 2
1 RBI 1
1 HR 0
6 TB 3
.400 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Houston 8 2 19 .229 13 10 5 3 2 1
Texas 12 2 21 .375 13 2 7 3 1 0