11 And Done - Rangers Lose 7-4

It was a sloppy game all around as both teams combined for five errors (three for Texas) and the Rangers were unable to pull themselves out of an early hole. It also didn't help that Ian Kinsler (above) was thrown out of the game early for arguing balls and strikes. (AP Photo/Cody Duty)

It had to end at some point.

Unfortunately for Rangers' fans who had seen such crisp baseball in the last few weeks, this was a game to forget. The Texas Rangers (44-29) didn't pitch well, weren't able to hit in clutch situations and were unable to make plays in the field as the 11-game winning-streak fell by the wayside at the hands of the lowly Houston Astros (29-45).

"They beat us," manager Ron Washington said. "We move on."

That's all the Rangers can do after a game like this. Sure, it was bad, but it's still only one game out of 162 and the first loss for the Rangers since June 11. Really, it was a game so different from the last 11 that it was almost shocking.

Here's the rundown, a throwback, three-keys to a Rangers loss:

1. Colby Lewis (L, 7-5), who pitched 9 innings of two-hit baseball just a week ago against this same team in Houston, just didn't seem to have the same command of his pitches that he did on June 19. Lewis gave up five runs (four earned) on nine hits in five innings, the most runs and hits he's given up since June 3 - his last loss.
2. The recently remarkable bullpen was unable to dig Lewis out of a hole. Chris Ray, who had allowed no runs and only one hit in his last six appearances, gave up two earned runs and three hits in only an inning of action.
3. The Rangers' offense, which had provided clutch hit after clutch hit in the past 11 games, was unable to get much going. Texas stranded 13 runners on base and finished a measly 3 of 13 (.230) with runners in scoring position for the game.

Luckily for Texas, it's an outlandishly long season and they get right back out there Saturday afternoon. Game two of the three-game set has a scheduled 2:05 p.m. start time with C.J. Wilson (5-3, 3.41 ERA) getting the start for Texas and Josh Banks making his first start of the season for Houston.

News and Notes:

• On a lighter note, the Rangers are the best hitting team in Major League Baseball with a .281 team batting average. Three Rangers are in the top 15 in batting average in MLB, led by Josh Hamilton (third) at .350.
  

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)