Choo comes up huge again in 2nd-half surge

ARLINGTON -- Outfielder Shin-Soo Choo started the second half of the season on the Rangers' bench. Now he is making a strong case to be the Rangers' MVP since the All-Star break.

Choo had four more hits on Thursday night and was in the middle of all three Rangers rallies as they completed a four-game sweep of the Astros with an 8-2 victory.

Choo had a one-out single in the third ahead of Mitch Moreland's three-run home run, he singled and scored on Adrian Beltre's double in the seventh and added a two-run single in the eighth.

"That's Choo, that's the way he plays," Moreland said. "He creates havoc and is always on base. He takes a lot of pitches and walks a lot. He is finding a way to get on base and he is squaring everything up right now. He has been huge for us. He has been carrying us in the second half along with a few other guys."

Video: HOU@TEX: Banister on four-game sweep of the Astros

Choo was 8-for-16 with two walks and six runs scored during the series. But that was just an extension of what he has done since the All-Star break. With his second four-hit game of the season, Choo has hit .340 with a .454 on-base percentage and a .548 slugging percentage since the break.

"I'm not trying to do anything except have good at-bats, swing at strikes and help the team win" Choo said. "I'm not a stats person. I just care about how I help the team. If I go 0-for-4 and we win, I'm happy."