Astros' catchers catching fire at the plate

ARLINGTON -- Astros catchers continued their torrid pace in Monday's 12-9 loss to the Rangers. Jason Castro went 2-for-4 and clubbed his third career grand slam, extending his hitting streak to seven games.

Castro and Hank Conger are hitting .462 with five homers -- including Monday's grand slam by Castro and one from Conger on Saturday) -- and 16 RBIs in the last seven games. Castro and Conger are the first catching duo to hit grand slams in the same season for the Astros since Mark Bailey and Alan Ashby in 1985.

Castro is hitting .385 with three homers and 10 RBIs during his streak. His homer was his 10th of the season, giving the Astros eight players with double-digit homers, one shy of the club record.

"His timing has been great," manager A.J. Hinch said. "He's been very disciplined. He's laid off some below-the-zone breaking balls, secondary pitches. He's put the barrel on the ball pretty consistently. There's a lot of confidence in him right now. He's carrying himself with a lot of confidence in the batter's box."

Castro pulled a double to right field in the second inning and launched his towering grand slam to right in the fourth, cutting Texas' lead to three runs.

"We're looking at a pretty big deficit there, and it kind of gave us more hope, and I thought we did a good job with the bats, kept pushing all night long and didn't give in," Castro said. "We were doing everything we could to try to come back."