Rangers remain atop AL West after heated rout of Astros

HOUSTON -- Marcus Semien is usually as calm and steady as they come.

But the Rangers’ star second baseman felt like he was intentionally hit by Astros starter Framber Valdez during Wednesday night’s series finale.

So he wore his emotions on his sleeve, sharing words with Valdez and with catcher Martín Maldonado. Then he hopped in celebration onto home plate when Adolis García put an exclamation point onto the 13-5 series finale win by hitting a grand slam onto the train tracks at Minute Maid Park.

“Any time a guy gets hit, it's between the pitcher and the catcher, the manager, whoever. Whoever's decision it was,” Semien said. “I got hit. It was on purpose. I'm not going to just take that.

“It definitely fueled us. We got the win when we needed it most.”

The skipping celebration led to both benches clearing. In the aftermath, both Semien and Maldonado were ejected.

But the Rangers would have the last laugh. After dropping each of its first two games of the series by one run, Texas managed to salvage a big win in the Lone Star Series, staving off Houston to hold the division lead by two games.

The buildup
Here’s a breakdown of the steady rise in tension inside Minute Maid Park:

1. Starter Andrew Heaney hit Yordan Alvarez -- who had just returned from a right oblique strain -- on the shoulder with an 0-2, 93.1 mph fastball in the top of the first inning, right after allowing a three-run homer to Alex Bregman.

2. Valdez hit Semien in the top of the third with a first-pitch sinker.

3. Semien nodded his head at Valdez, and after scoring on Nathaniel Lowe’s home run, told Maldonado at home plate: “We're going to end up winning this game.”

“He said, 'Now, it's just like when you were in Oakland,’” Semien said. “When I was in Oakland, they won the division twice, maybe, when he was there. We won the division once. They beat us in the playoffs.”

4. Semien hit a huge two-run home run to put the Rangers up, 6-3, and again shared words with Valdez and Maldonado while rounding the bases.

5. Two at-bats later, Lowe moved out of the way of a pitch that nearly hit him for ball four and took offense, chirping at Valdez on the way to first.

“That was very close to my chin,” Lowe said. “If he’s going to go after me, over some personal vendetta, put it in my leg. But when you go above the belt, that’s when things start to get dangerous.”

The blowup
In the next inning, García hit his grand slam, a towering 448-foot blast to left field. His 25th home run of the season put Texas up 13-3, giving the Rangers their 21st game with 10 or more runs, the most in the Majors this year. Semien, on third, hopped onto home plate in celebration.

“After I scored on Adolis' grand slam, I told him, 'I told you we're going to win this game,’” Semien said.

When García finished rounding the bases himself, he and Maldonado exchanged words, getting in each other’s faces at home. The benches cleared.

“We competed for a lot of years,” Semien said. “I never want to get thrown out of a game, but it happened."

“It's two guys trying to compete, two good teams that are playing for the division,” Maldonado said. “And I think every team in the big leagues has that competitive mindset out there."

The aftermath
With Alvarez and Jose Altuve coming off the injured list and back in the Astros’ lineup, an early three-run deficit and Houston’s ace on the mound, the Rangers faced a potentially devastating series sweep.

But Texas responded, rallying with a four-run fourth and a seven-run fifth -- the most runs the Rangers have scored in an inning at Minute Maid Park.

“Facing a good pitcher today, down three runs, they had no quit in them,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “They just kept going and got a big win.”

A loss would’ve also given the Astros, who hold a 6-4 lead in the season series, the head-to-head tiebreaker for playoff position.

Instead, Texas maintained a slight edge in the division. The two teams meet once more this season, from Sept. 4-6 in Arlington.

“Not just to win to win today, how we won, how we responded after Marcus got drilled,” Bochy said. “You’re talking about karma at its finest. I really think that was the case, because there’s no way Andrew was trying to hit somebody. He’s ahead in the count. We’re trying to get him out of the first inning.

“But, hey, it is what it is. And it’s just a great response by this club."