HOUSTON (Interstat) — The Houston Astros used a pair of two-run innings built on home runs Saturday night, defeating the Texas Rangers 4-1 at Daikin Park in front of 32,315 in a game that finished in 2 hours, 28 minutes.

Kai-Wei Teng delivered five scoreless innings for the Astros, allowing two hits while striking out seven to improve to 2-3. Jacob deGrom took the loss for Texas, falling to 3-3 after allowing four earned runs on five hits over six innings. Bryan Abreu recorded his second save of the season with a scoreless ninth.

Houston struck first in the bottom of the first inning against deGrom. Jose Altuve led off with a solo home run to left field, his fourth of the season, tying the game at 1-1. Two batters later, Yordan Alvarez launched his 15th home run of the year to right field, giving the Astros a 2-1 lead. DeGrom struck out Christian Walker and Braden Shewmake to limit the damage, but the Astros had already established control.

The Rangers mounted a threat in the top of the second inning against Teng. Evan Carter walked and Alejandro Osuna singled, putting runners at first and second with one out. Jake Burger struck out, but Danny Jansen was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Carter attempted to score on a play at the plate but was thrown out by catcher Christian Vázquez to end the inning.

Texas again put runners in scoring position in the fourth inning. After Josh Jung struck out, Carter walked for the second time. Ezequiel Duran singled to put runners at first and second. Alejandro Osuna grounded out, advancing both runners into scoring position with two outs, but Burger grounded out to second base to end the inning.

Houston answered in the bottom of the fourth with another two-run outburst. Christian Walker led off with a solo home run to left center, his 11th of the season, extending the lead to 3-1. After Shewmake popped out and Brice Matthews flied out, Zach Cole hit his third home run of the year to right field, making it 4-1.

The Astros’ defense and bullpen preserved the lead. Teng worked through the fifth inning without issue, and the Rangers stranded runners again in the fifth when Joc Pederson walked and Brandon Nimmo flew out before Josh Jung grounded into a forceout.

Texas finally broke through against Astros reliever Enyel De Los Santos in the seventh inning. Jake Burger led off with a single deflected by shortstop Braden Shewmake. Justin Foscue followed with a single to center, and Pederson singled to center, scoring Burger to cut the deficit to 4-2. Pederson’s single was the third hit of the inning and gave Texas its only run. Nimmo lined out, Jung walked to load the bases, and pinch-hitter Andrew McCutchen flew out to center to end the threat.

The Rangers put two more runners on in the eighth inning against Steven Okert and Bryan King. Burger walked and Jansen walked, but Justin Foscue flew out to right field to end the inning.

In the ninth inning against Abreu, Pederson walked and McCutchen singled to put the tying run on base. Ezequiel Duran grounded into a forceout at second base to end the game.

The game was the second of a three-game series between the Texas rivals. The Astros won the series opener Friday night, 2-0. Texas entered Saturday with a 21-24 record and Houston with a 19-28 record.

Key performances included Teng’s control, the home runs by Altuve, Alvarez, Walker and Cole, and the Astros’ bullpen work. AJ Blubaugh pitched two-thirds of an inning without allowing a hit. Steven Okert struck out two in a perfect eighth. Bryan King retired the only two batters he faced. Enyel De Los Santos, despite giving up three hits and the Rangers’ only run, recorded the final out of the seventh inning.

The Rangers had six hits on the night, led by Pederson’s single and McCutchen’s single. The Astros managed only five hits, but four went for home runs.

Texas will look to avoid a sweep Sunday in the series finale before traveling to Colorado for a three-game set against the Rockies. Houston will host the Rangers again Sunday before heading to Minnesota for a series with the Twins.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Texas 4, Houston 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Texas a 52.00 percent probability to win. Texas was installed as the pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The combined score of 5 went over the over/under line of 8.