ARLINGTON - Joc Pederson swung and Ronel Blanco sank to a knee. The Houston Astros right-hander craned his neck and stayed in a crouch, left knee on the mound, watching until the baseball landed in Globe Life Field's right-field seats.

Joc Pederson broke a tie with a two-run home run in the sixth inning, Wyatt Langford hit a solo shot in a two-run seventh and the Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros 5-1 on Saturday night.

Mahle tossed six innings of one-run ball with five hits, a couple of walks, and three strikeouts. He came into today with such a ridiculously low ERA of 1.47. Despite a quality start, Mahle’s ERA stayed at 1.47 because it’s hard to be better than almost untouchable.