Dustin Harris doubled home Cody Freeman with the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning to lift the surging Texas Rangers to a 4-3 win over the slumping Houston Astros on Friday in the opener of a crucial three-game series between the American League West rivals in Arlington, Texas.

Harris, who was called up from Triple-A Round Rock prior to the game after outfielder Adolis Garcia was placed on the injured list, pulled a pitch from Lance McCullers Jr. (2-5) down the right field line that allowed Freeman to sprint to the plate. Harris had a least one hit in his previous 17 games at Round Rock before heading to Arlington.

The victory allowed the Rangers (73-69) to pull to within four games of Houston (77-65) in the AL West standings and to within a half-game of Seattle in the AL wild

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