Rangers best Verlander in Miller's debut

ARLINGTON -- Shelby Miller had to go up against Astros ace Justin Verlander in his first start for the Rangers. It did not appear to be a fair fight.

Miller had a 7.84 ERA in five games for the D-backs last season while recovering from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery. Verlander was runner-up for the American League Cy Young Award.

It didn't matter. Manager Chris Woodward said the Rangers aren’t going to back down against any pitcher, and that was the case on Tuesday night. They knocked out Verlander in the fifth inning and went on to a 6-4 victory over the Astros at Globe Life Park.

“Obviously Verlander is one of the best in the game, if not the best, but we had a plan against him,” Woodward said. “We are not going to fear anybody. He could go out and throw a shutout against us, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to fear him. We made him work tonight. We made him work for everything. He knew right away we were coming after him. That’s the only thing you can do against a great pitcher, you have to attack him back.”

Joey Gallo delivered the go-ahead hit with a two-run single in the seventh. He has two game-winning hits so far this season and scored the winning run in the Rangers' other victory. Rougned Odor started the Texas rally with a perfect bunt single past Astros left-handed reliever Framber Valdez and went to third on a double by Elvis Andrus.

“It’s everybody,” Odor said. “As a team we are staying with our plan. We go into every game with a plan, we stay with it and we keep playing hard. We used to go up there and just hit. Now we have a good idea.”

Miller lasted 3 2/2 innings. He gave up five hits and five walks while allowing just two runs. It wasn’t the greatest outing, but the last time he started a game that his team won was Aug. 18, 2017 with the D-backs.

“It felt good,” Miller said. “To finally get the first one out of the way, it was fun. It was definitely a grind out there competing against a great lineup -- they made me throw a lot of pitches -- but at the end of the day, we won the game and that’s all that matters.”

Verlander was coming off an Opening Day victory against the Rays but was knocked out without recording an out in the fifth. This was the second shortest of Verlander’s 26 career regular season starts against the Rangers. The shortest was 2 2/3 innings in a 10-6 loss on May 16, 2013, in Arlington.

“That’s not easy to do,” third baseman Asdrubal Cabrera said. “He’s a pretty good pitcher, but we have good hitters too. We fight pretty good and made him throw a lot of pitches.”

Verlander has been historically tough on the Rangers. He entered the game with a career 2.82 ERA against the Rangers, the sixth lowest by an opponent with at least 150 innings in club history. The Rangers' .220 batting average against Verlander ranked as the third-lowest mark for an opposing pitcher.

The Astros gave Verlander a 2-0 lead against Miller, but the Rangers tied it in the bottom of the second on a two-run home run by Cabrera. It was Cabrera’s third home run in the Rangers' first five games.

The Rangers, trailing 3-2, scored two more off Verlander in the fifth. Shin-Soo Choo led off with a triple, and, after Odor was hit by a pitch, Andrus and Nomar Mazara delivered back-to-back RBI singles to force Verlander out of the game.

“I’m proud of our guys,” Woodward said. “They don’t fear anybody. Obviously it showed tonight. We executed some swings off him, got him in trouble, got guys on base, got his pitch count up. Proud of our guys not backing down.”

Woodward wins first challenge
Woodward won his first challenge as Rangers manager in the seventh inning Tuesday. Gallo appeared to be doubled off first base after Cabrera lined out to second baseman Jose Altuve. But Woodward challenged, and the call was overturned as the replay showed Gallo diving back just ahead of the throw.