HOUSTON -- Rangers starter Yovani Gallardo has an 11 1/3 scoreless innings streak and two straight victories over first-place teams.
Gallardo held the Astros scoreless for 5 1/3 and the Rangers went on to an 11-1 victory on Friday night at Minute Maid Park. The Rangers have won just two of eight games since the All-Star break and Gallardo has both wins.
Gallardo, who is from Fort Worth, Texas, refused that assignment and is starting to show renewed life with his hometown team. Gallardo was a 13-game winner for the Rangers' American League West-winning team in 2015, and now he is trying to show he can be more than a stopgap measure for a team still in great need for starting pitching.