Astros sweep Rangers, extend winning streak and widen AL West lead
Yordan Alvarez drew M-V-P chants as the Astros swept Texas, moved back into first place and left the Rangers 2.5 games behind.
The Astros finished a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 7-3 win at Daikin Park on Sunday, pushing Houston into first place in the American League West for the first time since April 6. The victory stretched Houston’s winning streak to six and its run to 11 of 12, while the Rangers dropped 2.5 games back.
That mattered because it was more than one more win in August. Beating Texas counted twice in the division race, giving Houston another mark in the standings and denying a rival a chance to close ground in a stretch when playoff positioning starts to harden. The sweep also gave the Astros the season series against the Rangers, a meaningful edge in a rivalry that often shapes the late months of the schedule for fans across Houston and Harris County.
The biggest change for Houston has been the offense. Yordan Alvarez drew “M-V-P” chants as the Astros stayed hot before the trade deadline, and Jeremy Peña and Alvarez have been carrying the lineup through the stretch. Alvarez had four hits in the finale, another sign that Houston is getting production from the middle of the order when the games are highest leverage. When the offense is moving like this, the rest of the club can play from ahead instead of chasing.
Texas showed the frustration of a team running into a hotter rival. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker and hitting coach Justin Viele were ejected in the loss, and Texas’ losing streak grew to a season-worst run. The Rangers never found a way to slow Houston over the weekend, and the sweep left the Astros in full control of the division chase.
The timing makes the surge matter even more. Houston has a long history of turning late-season series against Texas into leverage, and the club did it again here after also moving back into first place in a September 2025 sweep. From the first Major League game played by the Colt .45s on April 10, 1962, to this latest push at Daikin Park, the Astros have built their Houston identity around division runs like this one.
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