ARLINGTON, Texas (Interstat) — Spencer Arrighetti pitched six strong innings and the Houston Astros scored all their runs in the first and third innings to beat the Texas Rangers 5-1 on Thursday night at Globe Life Park.

Arrighetti, who improved to 7-1, allowed three hits and one earned run while striking out three. He retired 10 consecutive batters during one stretch. The right-hander continued a hot stretch after winning his previous two starts, including a 2-0 shutout of the Rangers on May 15 in which he threw 7 1/3 scoreless innings.

The Astros took control early with a three-run first inning against Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi. Shortstop Jeremy Peña opened the game with a home run to left field, his second of the season. After Yordan Alvarez walked, first baseman Isaac Paredes hit a two-run homer to left, his sixth, scoring Alvarez. Eovaldi settled down after that, striking out Taylor Trammell and Braden Shewmake, but the damage was done.

Houston added two more runs in the third. Paredes walked, and Trammell doubled to right field, scoring Paredes. Cam Smith then singled to center, driving in Trammell and advancing to second on a throwing error by center fielder Evan Carter. Eovaldi avoided further damage by getting Shewmake to fly out.

Texas got its only run in the second inning when third baseman Josh Jung led off with a home run to left-center, his sixth. Jung finished with two hits in three at-bats, including the homer and a single. He also walked once.

Eovaldi took the loss, dropping to 5-6. He worked seven innings, allowing five earned runs on four hits while striking out six. The veteran was done in by the two early homers and the two-run third inning.

Houston’s bullpen combined for three scoreless innings to preserve the win. Bryan Abreu struck out two in a perfect seventh. Steven Okert, Nate Pearson and Enyel De Los Santos each threw two-thirds of an inning without allowing a run. Pearson struck out two and De Los Santos struck out one.

Texas’s bullpen also performed well. Cal Quantrill tossed two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out one.

The Astros outhit the Rangers 6-4. Peña went 2 for 4 with a homer and an RBI. Paredes was 1 for 3 with a homer and two RBIs and also walked. Trammell doubled and drove in a run. Smith had two singles and an RBI.

For Texas, Jung provided the lone offensive highlight. The rest of the lineup managed only two other hits, both singles by shortstop Ezequiel Duran. Duran had two hits in four at-bats.

Defensively, both teams turned double plays. Houston turned one in the fifth to erase a walk. Texas turned one in the eighth to end a brief threat.

The game lasted 2 hours, 40 minutes in front of an announced crowd of 27,234.

The win evened the four-game series at two games apiece after Houston lost the opener 10-7 on Tuesday, then won 9-0 on Monday and 4-3 on Wednesday. The Astros have now won three of their last four overall. The Rangers have lost three of their last four.

Houston improved to 26-32, while Texas fell to 25-31.

Arrighetti’s recent starts have been instrumental in the Astros’ turnaround. In his previous outing on May 22 against the Chicago Cubs, he allowed two hits over five scoreless innings in a 4-2 win. His May 15 start against the Rangers was a complete-game, one-hit shutout — though not a complete game, as he went 7 1/3 innings.

Eovaldi had been effective in his recent outings, but the early homers proved costly. He had allowed two or fewer earned runs in four of his previous five starts, but the Astros jumped on him from the first pitch.

The Rangers had chances to cut into the lead but could not deliver key hits. In the fourth, Evan Carter was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a groundout, but Duran grounded out to end the inning. In the sixth, Jung singled with two outs, but Carter flew out. In the seventh, Duran singled and Kyle Higashioka walked, but Nicky Lopez struck out and pinch-hitter Justin Foscue popped out.

Houston’s defense also contributed. Second baseman Brice Matthews turned a key double play in the fifth after a walk to Joc Pederson. Peña made a smooth play to start the double play.

The Astros will return home to face the Milwaukee Brewers for three games starting Friday. The Rangers will host the Kansas City Royals for a three-game series beginning Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Houston 5, Texas 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Texas a 54.40 percent probability to win. Texas entered the game as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total of six runs went over the over-under line of eight.