Texas
Texas Rangers win over Houston Astros 4-3 in opener of final series this season between the AL West rivals
ARLINGTON – Josh Smith hit his first game-ending homer at any level, and it came for the Texas Rangers against the Houston Astros in the opener of the final series this season between the AL West rivals and last two World Series champions.
Smith pulled a 410-foot homer into the right-center seats with two outs in the 10th Monday night to give the Rangers a 4-3 win after Houston had gone ahead in the top of the inning when consecutive batters were hit by pitches.
“That’s pretty cool, and then to do it against the rival and division team is pretty sweet,” Smith said of his homer. “To do in that situation against that team with where we’re at right now is pretty important”
Corey Seager hit his 23rd homer, his fourth in four games, with two outs in the eighth for the defending champion Rangers (54-59), who moved five games within AL West-leading and idle Seattle. They are 8 1/2 games back for a wild-card spot.
“The excitement speaks for it all. You know that’s how the team feels right now. It almost feels like a weight lifted off our shoulders. You know, you get to exhale a little bit,” said Seager, who was on deck when Smith went deep. “So really cool swing out of him, and something we really needed.”
That game-ending blast off Caleb Ferguson (1-4) made a winner out of All-Star closer Kirby Yates (4-1), who in the top of the 10th hit consecutive batters with pitches, the first a disputed play, to force in a go-ahead run.
Texas had intentionally walked slugger Yordan Alvarez with one out before Yainer Diaz checked his swing and claimed he was hit on the hand by the pitch. The Rangers challenged when home plate umpire Will Little granted the base, but the call stood on replay review. Yates then hit Jeremy Peña with a pitch to force in a run.
“I don’t think you can have two bigger home runs of what we got late,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “Those big home runs and and really, you look at Kirby that game. It could have gotten away there in the 10th inning. But kept his poise and got the next two guys out to keep it a one-run ballgame.”
Houston (57-55), the 2022 champ, is 1 1/2 games behind the Mariners after twice giving up the lead against the Rangers.
“That’s baseball. Sometimes you got to tip your hat,” said Alex Bregman, who homered for the Astros. “Seager took a really good swing on a good pitch and Smith took a great swing as well.”
Texas took a 6-5 lead in the season series with two games remaining. They both finished with 90 wins last year, and Houston was declared the AL West champion on the head-to-head tiebreaker after winning nine of 13 games during the regular season, and made Texas a wild card.
The Astros led 2-1 in the eighth when Peña drove in a run with a slow, two-hop infield single with the bases loaded against reliever David Robertson, who then struck out the last two batters.
The Astros were 1 for 7 with five strikeouts with the bases loaded from the seventh inning until the end of the game.
Both starting pitchers, Houston’s Hunter Brown and Texas lefty Andrew Heaney, struck out four while giving up only one run over six innings.
Heaney pitched one-hit ball in his six innings, that hit being Bregman’s 15th homer for a 1-0 lead in the third. Heaney allowed only two other base runners, on a walk and hit batter, but neither got past first base.
When José Leclerc replaced Heaney to start the seventh, Houston had a walk, hit and sacrifice bunt. Andrew Chafin, acquired in a trade last week, entered with a four-pitch walk to load the bases before consecutive strikeouts.
Trainer’s Room
Astros: Justin Verlander, who hasn’t pitched since June 9 because of neck stiffness, will throw a bullpen session this week. A rehab assignment should follow if all goes well for the three-time Cy Young Award winner.
Up Next
RHP Tyler Mahle makes his Rangers debut, pitching for the first time since Tommy John surgery in May 2023. Texas signed him to a $22 million, two-year deal in free agency last December, knowing he had to rehab for much of this season. Astros lefty Framber Valdez faces the Rangers for the time since losing to them twice in last year’s AL Championship Series.
The winning numbers in Tuesday evening’s drawing of the “Texas All or Nothing Night” game were:
3, 6, 7, 8, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24
(three, six, seven, eight, thirteen, fifteen, sixteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-four)
For more lottery results, go to Jackpot.com | Order Lottery Tickets
Texas
Texas man accused of killing pregnant wife allegedly cuts off ankle monitor and flees to Italy
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A Texas man facing charges for allegedly killing his pregnant wife has reportedly cut off his ankle monitor and fled abroad.
Lee Mongerson Gilley, 39, is accused of murdering his wife, Christa Bauer Gilley, and the couple’s unborn child in Houston in 2024, according to KPRC.
Gilley was set to appear in court Tuesday, but instead flew from Texas to Canada, and finally Italy, where he told authorities he was seeking asylum after being “wrongfully prosecuted” and is fearful of receiving the death penalty, his attorney told the outlet.
“I’m concerned that the prosecution will try to say that it’s evidence of consciousness of guilt that he’s running from it, but I think he’s just scared,” defense attorney Dick DeGuerin reportedly said.
NAVY RESERVIST ON ACTIVE DUTY ACCUSED OF MURDERING WIFE BELIEVED TO HAVE FLED TO HONG KONG
Lee Mongerson Gilley, 39, is accused of murdering his wife, Christa Bauer Gilley, and their unborn child in Houston in 2024, according to KPRC. (Christa Bauer Gilley/Facebook)
Gilley, whose murder trial was set to begin later this month, is reportedly in the custody of Italian authorities. His ankle monitor alerted authorities it had been tampered with on Friday, according to the outlet.
DeGuerin told the outlet that before Gilley can be returned to Texas, the state must certify to Italy that he is not eligible for the death penalty — which the prosecution is not seeking in his case.
SEND US A TIP HERE
Gilley is accused of killing his wife, Christa, and their unborn baby by “applying pressure to [her] neck and upper back” on Oct. 7, 2024, according to charging documents obtained by People.
HUSBAND CHARGED IN PREGNANT PHYSICAL THERAPIST WIFE’S MURDER AFTER GIVING POLICE A DIFFERENT STORY
Defense attorney Ed McClees and his client, Lee Mongerson Gilley, appear in the 497th District Court at the Harris County Justice Center in Houston on Oct. 17, 2024. Gilley is charged with capital murder in the death of his wife, Christa Gilley. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Prosecutors reportedly allege Gilley initially claimed Christa, who was nine months pregnant, had overdosed and that he had tried to save her with CPR, but a medical examiner later pointed to evidence of strangulation and ruled her death a homicide.
LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCAST
After he was arrested days later, Gilley allegedly admitted his wife was not a drug user or suicidal, and that the couple had been arguing before her death, KPRC reported.
In 2025, while out on bond, prosecutors reportedly allege Gilley and an unnamed woman, whom he had an affair with in 2023, devised a scheme to flee to Mexico and other countries, according to the outlet.
MISSING FATHER OF 3 MAY HAVE FAKED HIS OWN DEATH AND FLED TO ‘SOMEPLACE IN EUROPE’: OFFICIALS
Prosecutors allege Lee Mongerson Gilley killed his wife, Christa Bauer Gilley, who was nine months pregnant, in Houston in 2024. (Christa Bauer Gilley/Facebook)
“The Defendant also inquired as to whether she knew of a Mexican identity he could acquire to facilitate his departure from the country,” the document said.
Gilley also allegedly “provided a detailed plan” to remove his GPS monitor and perform a sham marriage to obtain a new identity, prosecutors reportedly said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Authorities are working to extradite Gilley back to the country, according to KPRC.
Gilley’s defense attorney and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) announced on Monday that Texas baseball pitcher Dylan Volantis will share this week’s Pitcher of the Week award with LSU’s Zac Cowan. From Texas Athletics’ announcement:
“Against No. 10 Mississippi State, Volantis registered a co-career-best 12 strikeouts and scattered three singles across six scoreless innings. After the Bulldogs notched a two-out infield hit in the first, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound left-hander retired 10 of the next 11 batters he faced. Volantis capped off that stretch by punching out the side on only 10 pitches in the fourth. Overall, the Thousand Oaks, Calif., native threw 107 pitches, which marked the most by a Longhorn this year. In Texas’ 3-1 victory, the Longhorns totaled 19 strikeouts, tying their most in a nine-inning game in program history.“
Advertisement
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT THE LONGHORNS
Austin American-Statesman: Where did Reese Atwood, Leighann Goode get selected in AUSL Draft?
Austin American-Statesman: Texas beach volleyball falls 3-2 to UCLA in national semifinals
Austin American-Statesman: Texas tennis teams advance to Sweet 16 rounds of the NCAA Tournaments
Austin American-Statesman: Why was Texas starter Ruger Riojas pulled after only 71 pitches?
247Sports: Horns247 Roundtable: One under-the-radar storyline around Texas football our staff is watching
Inside Texas: Are the tides beginning to turn for Texas’ most important players for postseason success?
Advertisement
Inside Texas: Six under-discussed Texas football offseason topics
ICYMI IN BURNT ORANGE NATION
No. 4 Texas rallies from early deficit for 11-6 win over No. 10 Mississippi State
Lack of timely hitting dooms No. 4 Texas in 7-4 loss to No. 10 Mississippi State
Dylan Volantis powers No. 4 Texas to 3-1 win over No. 10 Mississippi State
Texas basketball executed ‘aggressive’ plan in the NCAA transfer portal
Four-star RB Noah Roberts picks Texas
RECRUITING ROUNDUP
247Sports: The Stampede: 10 more targets that could join Texas’ 2027 class
Inside Texas: Inside Scoop: News on five-star targets, notes, Texas coaches hit recruiting trail
Advertisement
Inside Texas: Texas Recruiting Update: Texas seeing elite OT Ismael Camara, Marcus Fakatou trims list
Inside Texas: Sean Miller estimates ’20-25′ college basketball rosters worth over $20 million
Inside Texas: Recruiting Shift: A&M momentum may actually help Texas with John Meredith
Inside Texas: Flip Watch: 10 committed prospects Texas could make a move on
SEC SHOWDOWN
Austin American-Statesman: Texas Softball: Longhorns secure double bye in SEC Tournament
247Sports: How a Game of Thrones reference helped Luke Harrison overcome bad start, lead Texas baseball to big win
Good Bull Hunting: Aggie baseball drops series to No. 8 Auburn
Advertisement
Rock M Nation: Struggles in Georgia: Mizzou baseball suffers series sweep to top-ranked Bulldogs
And The Valley Shook: Tigers sweep South Carolina to stay alive
Rocky Top Talk: Inconsistency continues to plague Tennessee baseball
Roll ‘Bama Roll: How sweep it is, Alabama takes down Vanderbilt
A Sea Of Blue: UK eyes Memorial Coliseum naming rights deal in major revenue push
WHAT WE’RE READING
SB Nation: The Chicago Sky just signed one of the WNBA’s best free agents
SB Nation: Nelly Korda is one of the most dominant athletes in the world right now
SB Nation: Carolina Hurricanes ‘beer skate’ so popular that things are getting dumb on eBay
Advertisement
NEWS ACROSS LONGHORN NATION AND BEYOND
-
What a ride it’s been for these seniors.
-
Utah5 minutes agoUtah man faces multiple charges for alleged abuse and rape of juvenile daughter
-
Vermont11 minutes agoBizarre Bazaar to highlight local artisans May 16; new craft show to highlight unique creations
-
Virginia17 minutes ago
Virginia Sen. L. Louise Lucas has been vocal advocate for marijuana legalization
-
Washington23 minutes agoWashington Nationals recall Zak Kent
-
Wisconsin29 minutes agoWisconsin air show, road race voted among best in country
-
West Virginia35 minutes agoWest Virginia couple charged in York County COVID-era rent fraud cases
-
Wyoming40 minutes agoFather and son Blackfeet creatives give a peek into their ledger art process
-
Crypto47 minutes agoBabylon and Gomining Plan to Activate Up to 1,000 BTC via Trustless Vaults
