(© Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)

The Texas Rangers wanted to get off on the right foot as the Silver Boot Series kicked off again on Friday night against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park in Houston. Well, the Rangers ran into a buzzsaw in Astros starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti.

Arrighetti was throwing his curveball and sweeper all night long, keeping Rangers' hitters off-stride. He threw seven-plus innings of no-hit ball as the Astros secured a 2-0 win.

Rangers starter Jack Leiter was equally as tough on the Astros, despite getting the hard-luck loss and falling to 1-4 overall. Leiter gave up Isaac Peredes' solo home run in the third inning, and that was it. He only allowed three hits, walked three, and struck out six Astros.

Arrighetti has been one of the Astros' most consistent starters in an overall inconsistent season for the ballclub. In 7 1/3 innings, Arrighetti only allowed Justin Foscue's broken-bat single to left field in the seventh inning. He struck out five and walked four, pushing his season record to 5-1.

Foscue, though, reached first base with two outs. As it turned out, Foscue committed a baserunning blunder. He wandered a bit too far off first base and Astros catcher Christian Vasquez caught him, firing down to first and picking Foscue off.

Making a third out in an inning of a tight ballgame like that doesn't look too good. Foscue obviously was not pleased with what happened after getting picked off.

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker called on Cole Winn to do his best to keep the game tight going into the ninth inning. In the bottom half of the eighth, though, with two outs and runners on first and third base, the Astros' singled to bring home pinch-runner and give Houston a 2-0 lead.