HOUSTON — The education of Jack Leiter continues, and on Friday night, his report card showed a W.
With catcher Kyle Higashioka offering some valuable tutelage, Leiter earned his first victory since May 30 as the Rangers topped the Astros 7-3 at Daikin Park.
“Can’t say enough good things about Higgy,” Leiter said. “That was the first time catching me since Spring Training, and just a pro. His between-innings dialogue is second to none. I think he’s got a lot of good feedback.”
Leiter, who had gone 0-4 over his previous six starts, allowed three runs on five hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings, striking out six. What was his chief takeaway from Higashioka?
“I think adaptability’s a big one,” Leiter (5-6) said. “He really liked the changeup today. Probably four strikeouts on changeups looking, which is just an unusual way to put guys away. That’s, again, what was working, and that’s what we went with.
“He also liked the sinker a lot. We threw a lot more sinkers than I’ve thrown in [some of] my recent outings for sure. It was just an adjustment of pitch selection early on. The feel wasn’t there for the curveball. The slider was better but not great, and we went with what was working. And that was kind of his message: Every day is gonna be different, and you’ve got to trust what you have.”
With the Rangers scoring at least five runs for the fifth consecutive game, Leiter had a 2-0 lead before taking the mound, courtesy of Evan Carter’s two-out, two-run single in the first off Lance McCullers Jr. Jonah Heim and Wyatt Langford also drove in two runs with two outs, Heim on a third-inning double and Langford on a seventh-inning homer.
Langford, who added three singles in matching his career high of four hits and also stole a base, is 9-for-16 (.563) with seven RBIs over his past four games.
“I knew it was coming. I think a lot of us did,” Leiter said of the Rangers’ offense. “It’s fun to watch them do their thing when they’re firing on all cylinders like this.”
Leiter, who allowed a single and a walk to start but limited the Astros to a lone run in the first, rued a four-seam fastball that Victor Caratini hit for a two-run homer in the fourth to slice the Rangers’ lead to 5-3. The key moment for Leiter came in the fifth, when he struck out Christian Walker looking with two outs and two on to put himself in position for the victory.
“Huge,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “We had somebody up at that time. Him getting us into the sixth was big. This bullpen’s been used a lot, and I thought that was as big an out as we had all game.”
Leiter admitted to being pleasantly surprised by the result of his 1-2 changeup to Walker.
“It wasn’t where I want to throw the changeup, but it’s just a funky pitch,” Leiter said. “It’s kind of like a splitter, and it performs in a lot of areas, so it’s got a lot of wiggle room, which is exciting to me.”
As is what lies ahead in the second half of his first full Major League season.
“Not in a negative way, but there’s so many things I can do better,” Leiter said. “I think just the room for improvement feels very high. It’s just a matter of continuing to get better, learn these small lessons, learn from the guys.”
Leiter left Friday’s game after surrendering a one-out single to Yainer Diaz in the sixth. Shawn Armstrong, Hoby Milner, Chris Martin and Robert Garcia kept the Astros scoreless from there, allowing a combined three hits over the final 3 2/3 innings.
The Rangers, now a game under .500 at 47-48, moved within 8 1/2 games of the Astros in the American League West, and there’s a chance to gain more ground this weekend with Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi set to pitch Saturday and Sunday in what might well be pitchers’ duels. Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown are lined up for the Astros.
Friday’s starter for the Rangers was simply happy to set the tone as he notched what had been an elusive fifth victory of the season.
“W’s are awesome,” Leiter said. “It’s what you’re ultimately chasing. There’s a lot that goes into it that’s out of your control. But yeah, at the end of the day, a win feels great, and I was happy I was able to do my part in this one.”