The Rangers got off to a great start in this year's battle for the silver boot. Sidney Ponson got the start for Texas but got roughed up for 7 runs on 9 hits over 5 innings, although only 3 of those runs were earned.
The Ranger offense got going early against Houston starter Shawn Chacon scoring three runs in the first inning. The Astros countered with two off Ponson in the 2nd to make it a 3-2 game. Josh Hamilton hit his 9th homerun of the year in the 3rd and added a three-run blast in the 4th. Saltalamacchia also hit his first homerun of the year in the 4th to give the Rangers a 8-2 lead. The Astros offense came alive in the 5th inning however scoring 5 runs off Ponson who left after 5 innings. The scored one more against reliever Frankie Francisco to tie the game at 8. The Ranger pen shut down the Houson offense for the final three innings, but the Ranger bats were about to heat up again. The Rangers broke the tie in the 7th scoring two runs to take a 10-8 lead, then blasted reliever Oscar Villareal for 6 runs in the 8th inning. Three of those six runs coming off homeruns from David Murphy, Chris Shelton, and a two-run blast by Michael Young. The Rangers finished with a 16-8 win in the series opener.
The Rangers will send ace Vicente Padilla to the mound to face Roy Oswalt in tonight's game.