Don't look now, but Astros are nearly back on top of AL West

HOUSTON -- The Astros were wounded and vulnerable. They had lost three-fifths of their starting rotation to injury by the time the second month of the season rolled around. They were without the heartbeat of their offense, Jose Altuve, for 43 games with a fractured thumb. And then, they lost slugger Yordan Alvarez for nearly two months with an oblique injury.

If ever there was a time for another team to take control of the American League West and kick the Astros while they were down, this was it. The Rangers -- a team the Astros have dominated in recent years -- opened up a 6 1/2-game lead atop the division by mid-June and boasted six players at the All-Star Game in Seattle following a feel-good first half.

The Astros, relying on contributions from unlikely youngsters and playoff-tested veterans, kept lurking and stayed patient. Objects in your mirror are indeed closer than they appear. After beating the Rangers, 4-3, on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park, the Astros have climbed to within one game of their Lone Star State rivals in the AL West.

“I feel like we've been showing what kind of team we are,” catcher Martín Maldonado said. “A lot of people didn’t believe that we could keep playing good, but you’ve to give a lot of credit to the Minor League players. Whoever came up here just adopted the same mentality we had. It's about winning, and we can’t be more proud of every guy that stepped up.”

If that wasn’t enough reason for the Astros to feel optimistic, they’ll send ace pitcher Framber Valdez to the mound in Wednesday’s series finale with a chance to catch the Rangers. And Alvarez and Altuve are both expected to be activated from the injured list and return to the lineup following long absences.

“They’re arguably the two most dangerous hitters in the league,” said closer Ryan Pressly, who gave up a two-run homer to Mitch Garver in the ninth but notched his 100th save as an Astro. “You put them in our lineup, you automatically get better. To get them back would be tremendous.”

Astros starter J.P. France, one of the young players who has emerged as a key piece, held the Rangers to one unearned run in seven innings by relying mostly on his fastball, lowering his ERA to 2.87. The rookie has logged eight quality starts in his last nine outings.

“It was huge,” France said. “You have to go out there and treat it just like any other game. Like I say all the time, pressure’s a privilege to be able to be in those situations. You have to go out there and pitch your game, and you can’t let the situation get too big.”

France (6-3) won his fourth consecutive decision behind an efficient 84-pitch outing in which he gave up five hits and two walks and struck out three. The only run the Rangers scored came on a two-out error by shortstop Jeremy Peña in the sixth that cut the lead to 2-1, but Kyle Tucker homered in the sixth and Maldonado homered in the seventh to keep the Rangers at bay.

But Peña was instrumental in the Astros cutting down a key runner at the plate. His relay throw from left fielder Corey Julks in the seventh allowed Maldonado to tag out Marcus Semien, who was trying to score from first on a double by Travis Jankowski. Semien was initially ruled safe, but the call was overturned by a replay review.

“That’s what we work on all spring -- cutoffs and relays,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “They can cost you a lot of games. … That’s one of the few plays I’ve seen overturned in our favor. That was a big play.”

Another big play came at the end of the game, when Leody Taveras shot a fly ball to deep right field. Tucker, a Gold Glove winner last year, turned and jumped to catch it at the wall, saving at least extra bases. Pressly exhaled and looked down in relief.

A win is a win, and the Astros need one more to return to the top of a division they’ve captured in each of the past five 162-game seasons.

“We’ve been doing a pretty good job making our way up the standings, and now we're just a game behind them and we’re going to try to close it a little closer tomorrow,” said Tucker, who’s hitting .439 during an 11-game hitting streak.