ARLINGTON -- Rangers starter Ariel Jurado gave up five runs in the first two innings on Sunday. That’s not a good thing when the opposing pitcher is All-Star right-hander Justin Verlander.

The Rangers did score two runs in the first, but Verlander responded by retiring the last 15 batters he faced before leaving after six in the Astros’ 12-4 victory over the Rangers in Sunday afternoon’s series finale at Globe Life Park.

The Rangers ended up splitting the four-game series with the Astros after winning the first two and losing in 11 innings on Saturday night. The two teams have a three-game series next weekend in Houston.

• Box score

“It was a great series,” Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus said. “Yesterday was the one we needed to win. If we win that game, today would have been so much different. That’s how it goes. Today was just a different game. We are going to face those guys in a couple of days, so we have to be ready and continue to play hard.”

Jurado was making his first start since July 3, coming off a sharp 2 1/3-inning relief appearance against the Twins last Sunday. He still struggled with his command early -- as did other Rangers starters in this series, after the extra rest through the break.

Jurado walked a season-high four batters and three of them ended up scoring. More telling was his inability to put away hitters with two strikes. Jurado faced 23 batters and went to two-strike counts on 11 of them. He struck out three, but the other eight reached base on six singles and two walks.

Opponents are hitting .277 with a .475 slugging percentage on two-strike counts against Jurado this year. Entering play Sunday, the American League had a .174 batting average and a .287 slugging percentage with two strikes.

“Early on in the first couple of innings, he was fighting some mechanical issues,” manager Chris Woodward said. “He actually moved over on the rubber to counter that. He wasn’t able to make those corrections early enough. He didn’t have command from the beginning. So even when he got ahead of them, he didn’t have a way of putting them away, because he couldn’t put it where he wanted to.”

The emphasis for Jurado this season was to get more swinging strikes, and he entered the game with a 19.3 whiff rate, up from 10.4 from last season. But it was just 13.3 on Sunday and the big at-bat came in the first inning.

Jose Altuve opened the game with a line-drive single to center on a 1-2 fastball and Jurado then walked Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley to load the bases. That brought up designated hitter Yordan Alvarez.

Jurado got behind in the count 2-0, and then started throwing strikes. Alvarez fouled off four straight -- three fastballs and a slider -- and then took ball three. Alvarez then fouled off three more pitches -- changeup, fastball and curve. Finally, on the 11th pitch, the Houston DH grounded a fastball through the right side for a run-scoring single.

Jurado got ahead two strikes on the next batter, Yuli Gurriel. But the Astros’ first baseman fouled off one fastball and then lined the next one into left field for a run-scoring single. Josh Reddick’s sacrifice fly made it 3-0.

“I was trying to throw those pitches on the corner, but they were getting too much of the plate,” Jurado said. “This has happened before. I just have to make the adjustments before my next start.”

Texas scored two off Verlander in the first, but a miscommunication on the basepaths cut short the rally. The Rangers had Andrus on third and Nomar Mazara on second with two outs at the time.

Rougned Odor hit a grounder up the middle that was headed for center field until shortstop Myles Straw cut it off with a diving stop on the grass. Andrus scored easily and third-base coach Tony Beasley was waving Mazara until he saw Straw make the play. He tried to stop Mazara, but it was too late and he was tagged out in a rundown.

“He waved me so I put my head down and ran,” Mazara said. “Then he started screaming, ‘Stop, stop, stop,’ but I was already past third base and [catcher Robinson] Chirinos had the ball. It was a tough play. He didn’t know that Straw was going to get to that ball.”

The Rangers did not get another hit until the seventh inning. By then they were trailing, 12-2.