Arlington, TX (My Sportsbook) - The Texas Rangers activated pitcher Joaquin Benoit from the 15-day disabled list Sunday and started the righthander in their Interleague series finale against Houston.

The Astros earned a 3-1 victory and a three-game sweep of the Rangers at the Ballpark in Arlington.

The 25-year-old Benoit threw five shutout innings before surrendering a pair of runs in the sixth. Benoit (2-3) suffered the loss, though he was dominant at times, striking out eight and walking just one in 5 2/3 innings.

Benoit was pitching shutout ball through five innings -- the first Texas starter to do so since April 23rd -- until Lance Berkman launched his 13th homer into the upper deck above field with two outs in the sixth to knot the score at 1-1.

As quickly as the game was tied, it became untied when Richard Hidalgo followed with a double to left and Jose Vizcaino stroked an 0-2 pitch into the right-center field gap for a triple and 2-1 Houston advantage.

Benoit had appeared in seven games before landing on the DL with right elbow inflammation on June 5th. The move was retroactive to June 1st.

In a related move, the Rangers sent left-hander Erasmo Ramirez to Triple-A Oklahoma. In eight appearances during two separate stints with Texas this season, Ramirez allowed seven runs over 9 2/3 innings.