Houston Astros at Texas Rangers

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
HOU	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	3	8	0
TEX	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	—	7	8	0

Hunter Brown, working his way back into rhythm after missing time this year, gets the ball for Houston at 7:05 PM CT, opposite Cal Quantrill, who's quietly been one of the more stable arms in the Rangers' beat-up rotation.

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FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Astros(46-49)

LWLWW

3

-1.5+130+104o7.5-150

Rangers(47-46)

WLWLL

7

+1.5-133+125u7.5+147

Best BetAstros -132

Postgame

Miss — Texas's 4-run 8th flipped a 3-2 Astros lead into a 7-3 loss.

Pregame

We backed the Astros here on the strength of Hunter Brown finally getting stretched back out and a Texas rotation missing deGrom for this one. Houston's price implied they were the live dog, and that gap looked worth taking given how thin the Rangers' pitching plans had gotten. It didn't come together — Texas's offense did enough late to make the number moot.

The rotation math matters more than usual here. Texas is without Jacob deGrom, who was scratched from his turn with a mild left glute strain and is trying to dodge the injured list before the All-Star break, which pushes extra weight onto Quantrill and a bullpen that's already down Jakob Junis and lost Jalen Beeks for the season. Houston's own pitching depth chart reads like a training room list — Lance McCullers Jr., Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter are all working back from injury — which is exactly why getting Brown built back up matters so much for this club down the stretch.

Hunter Brown

(1-1)·4.05 ERA

Jul 4 vs Rays

ND

4.0IP

6ER

3K

4BB

82P

07/10 Lineup

Cal Quantrill

(3-3)·4.05 ERA

Jul 4 vs Tigers

L

5.0IP

2ER

2K

1BB

66P

07/10 Lineup

Houston came in a game under .500 and mixing wins with ugly losses, including a 12-run night against Washington last week, while Texas had just been on the wrong end of a 13-run blowout to the Angels before answering with a walk-off win. Neither club is playing with much margin for error, and both lineups are without a key piece up the middle — Carlos Correa is out for the year in Houston, Corey Seager's been shelved with lower-back inflammation in Texas.

Houston Astros

(46-49)

Jul 8L@ Nationals2-8

Jul 7W@ Nationals6-3

Jul 6L@ Nationals11-12

Jul 5Wvs Rays2-0

Jul 4Wvs Rays10-8

Texas Rangers

(47-46)

Jul 10Wvs Angels7-6

Jul 9Lvs Angels1-13

Jul 8Wvs Angels8-3

Jul 5Lvs Tigers3-6

Jul 4Lvs Tigers0-3

The Astros actually grabbed the first real momentum of the night, scratching across single runs in the 6th and 7th to turn a scoreless staring contest into a 3-2 lead. It didn't hold. Texas broke it open with a 4-run 8th inning that turned a tight, low-scoring game into a laugher in the span of a few swings, and the bullpen shut the door from there.

Both injury boards were already crowded walking in, and neither team got healthier over the course of the night. For Houston, this is a rotation still trying to reassemble itself around a healthy Brown; for Texas, it's a race to keep deGrom off the IL before the break while everyone else in the bullpen mends. That's the version of both clubs the rest of this series will be played with.

Houston Astros

(7)

• 15-Day-ILLance McCullers Jr. (SP) — McCullers (shoulder) will make his next rehab start July 17 with Double-A Corpus Christi, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.07/10
• 15-Day-ILKai-Wei Teng (RP) — The Astros rescinded Teng's option and placed him on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a right knee sprain, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.07/01
• 60-Day-ILRonel Blanco (SP) — Blanco (elbow) struck out two over two perfect innings in a rehab appearance Tuesday with Triple-A Sugar Land.07/08
• 60-Day-ILBennett Sousa (RP) — Sousa (elbow) struck out one over a scoreless inning in a rehab appearance Sunday with Triple-A Sugar Land.07/07
• 60-Day-ILHayden Wesneski (SP) — Wesneski (elbow) struck out three and allowed one earned run on two hits and one walk across four innings Sunday in a rehab start with Double-A Corpus Christi. He also hit a batter and threw two wild pitches.07/07
• 60-Day-ILBrandon Walter (SP) — The Astros announced Friday that Walter (elbow) is in the midst of a throwing progression at the team's complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.06/04
• 60-Day-ILCarlos Correa (SS) — Correa is scheduled to undergo surgery Monday in Houston to repair the tendon in his left ankle, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.06/02

Texas Rangers

(12)

• Day-To-DayJacob deGrom (SP) — DeGrom will not make his scheduled start against the Astros on Sunday due to a mild left glute strain, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.07/10
• 10-Day-ILDanny Jansen (C) — Jansen (forearm) played catch Wednesday for the first time in two weeks, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.07/08
• 10-Day-ILCorey Seager (SS) — The Rangers placed Seager on the 10-day injured list Wednesday due to lower-back inflammation.07/01
• 10-Day-ILCody Freeman (3B) — The Rangers placed Freeman on the 10-day injured list Thursday due to a herniated disc.06/25
• 15-Day-ILJakob Junis (RP) — Junis received an injection Saturday for the hip impingement that landed him on the injured list, MLB.com reports.07/05
• 15-Day-ILJalen Beeks (RP) — Beeks (back) will miss the rest of the 2026 season after undergoing arm surgery, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.07/04
• 15-Day-ILJack Leiter (SP) — Leiter underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove a loose body from his right ankle region Tuesday and should be considered out indefinitely, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.06/23
• 60-Day-ILCody Bradford (SP) — Bradford (elbow) will resume his rehab assignment at Double-A Corpus Christi on Sunday, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.07/09
• 60-Day-ILJordan Montgomery (SP) — Montgomery (elbow) struck out three over two perfect innings in a rehab start Saturday with Double-A Frisco.06/29
• 60-Day-ILMichael Helman (CF) — Texas transferred Helman (hand) to the 60-day injured list Friday.06/19
• 60-Day-ILRobert Garcia (RP) — The Rangers transferred Garcia (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.06/01
• 60-Day-ILCarter Baumler (RP) — Baumler (intercostal) has been shut down from his rehab assignment, MLB.com reports.05/23