Rangers top Astros with mix of pitching and ‘D’

ARLINGTON — Rangers starter Cole Hamels extended his winning streak to 10 on Wednesday, but he was quick to admit afterward that this one definitely deserves the label of “team victory.”

“Oh yeah, of course,” Hamels said after the Rangers held on for a tension-filled 2-1 win over the Astros. The Rangers have now won three in a row and six of their last eight.

Hamels won because he was able to grind through 6 2/3 innings. He allowed five hits, walked three and hit a career-high three batters but allowed just one run, on a Tyler White home run.

Hamels also won because his defense turned three completely different double plays in crucial situations, and he won because of the late-inning relief work of Sam Dyson, Jake Diekman and Shawn Tolleson.

The Rangers made a lot of winning plays to pull this one out, between the double plays, left fielder Ian Desmond cutting down Jose Altuve trying to turn a single into a double and the pitchers holding the Astros to 1-for-12 in runners in scoring position.

“That was a great win for us,” Dyson said.

“Any win is a good win, but especially when you can win a close one like that,” Tolleson said. “We made a lot of big plays and got big outs in crucial moments of the game.”

This one wasn’t over until Tolleson, with the potential tying run on first, retired Altuve on a line …

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