​ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Yordan Alvarez connected on another moonshot for his AL-leading 31st homer, while LaMonte Wade Jr. delivered his first career grand slam as the Houston Astros defeated the Texas Rangers 9-3 on Saturday night. The Astros seized a lead they would not relinquish when Alvarez, who also paces the AL with 70 RBIs, launched a two-run blast measured at 425 feet to straightaway center field in the first inning. It came a night after a towering 455-foot shot to the right in the series opener. The All-Star designation at designated hitter has Alvarez just one behind NL All-Star DH Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead in homers.
Peter Lambert (8-5) worked six innings of three-hit ball, fanning seven and walking one. The right-hander, who didn’t crack the Astros’ roster in spring training, is 6-1 with a 2.84 ERA over his last nine starts. Ezequiel Durán provided the Rangers’ early offense with a pair of homers, his first career multi-homer game. He connected for a solo shot off Lambert in the fourth, then added a two-run homer in the ninth.
Wade’s slam in the second inning was his 57th career homer and the second in nine games with the Astros (47-50). Christian Vázquez opened the third with a homer to extend the lead to 7-0, after Houston had already collected eight of their 10 hits. All three Houston homers came off Texas starter Kumar Rocker (2-8), who allowed six runs on five-plus innings, striking out six but issuing two walks, hitting a batter, and enduring a rough line.
Alvarez, now with 201 career homers, also tallied a double and drew two walks. He is hitting .455 (10-for-22) with seven homers and 11 RBIs in six games this season at Globe Life Field. Neither club had named a starting pitcher for the series finale Sunday as the teams head into the All-Star break, marking the last Arlington meeting of the season between the intrastate rivals. The Rangers will head to Houston for a series July 31 through August 2.