Plenty to work on for a few players hoping to make the team

11 Texans-Packers observations

11 Texans-Packers observations

Observations from the Texans preseason opener against the Packers.

Coutee's injury

The Texans might have escaped a serious mishap with Keke Coutee their standout slot wide receiver. He later tweeted, then deleted, he believed his injury wasn't serious. He is a key player for this offense so his health is a huge story going forward.

Crockett claws for more

There is still hope for the young players trying to make the Texans at running back. Duke Johnson only solidifies the second spot, not the third. Crockett had some solid runs.

Max it out

Max Scharping handled himself well in his return home. Plenty of friends of family and he had some nice push on the right side. He looked better today than he has in some practices and he picks things up quick. I am excited to see what he looks like against a stout Lions front in joint practices.

Busted but balling

Tyron Johnson was able to cobble together some catches on some not so good plays for the offense. The above play was a broken one but he kept his focus. Later he came back and won a rep to catch another. He has had a solid camp.

Hot and cold for Tytus Howard

Howard played a ton at left guard even after the starter tonight at left tackle, Matt Kalil, left the game. He did ok. Some nice reps but he had a goal line whiff. When he played left tackle he didn't allow much pressure but one play didn't look great. He has played so much more guard than tackle this seems ambitious to now ask him to play tackle.

Lonnie gets beat

One of the Green Bay touchdowns came at the expense of rookie cornerback Lonnie Johnson. The Packers wideout had plenty of space to work and Johnson just misplayed it a little as the Packers player came down with the score.

Mancz hobbles off

Backup center Greg Mancz was injured and didn't return to the game for the Texans. He has been playing a ton with presumed starter Nick Martin also hurt. Zach Fulton is the team's third center. Mancz has not had a very solid camp. This team needs Martin to get back and play well.

Decent start for Roby

Bradley Roby had some good work in the game. The Packers were able to complete a few on him but he also came up and made some stops. He sticks with guys he will just need to make a play or two.

Akins plays well

With no Jordan Thomas and no Kahale Warring the bulk of the fun tight end work went to Jordan Akins who had a couple of catches. He made a couple of defenders miss and fought for a first down. He's a solid player.

Higdon's here

Karan Higdon had some nice plays tonight on special teams and running the ball. There is a long way to go as he is behind after missing some work in the spring but there's a chance for him.

It's not nothing

I get it is preseason and the games don't matter. Bill O'Brien's challenge was a horrible challenge and in a real game would have been terribly costly. It is practice for something like that as well and the Texans, again, bungled it.

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A timely blast from Caratini fuels another Astros win

Yordan Alvarez is still having issues with his hand. Composite Getty Image.

Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez has experienced a setback in his recovery from a broken right hand and will see a specialist.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Alvarez felt pain when he arrived Tuesday at the team's spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he had a workout a day earlier. Alvarez also took batting practice Saturday at Daikin Park.

He will be shut down until he's evaluated by the specialist.

“It’s a tough time going through this with Yordan, but I know that he’s still feeling pain and the soreness in his hand,” Brown said before Tuesday night's series opener at Colorado. “We’re not going to try to push it or force him through anything. We're just going to allow him to heal and get a little bit more answers as to what steps we take next.”

Alvarez has been sidelined for nearly two months. The injury was initially diagnosed as a muscle strain, but when Alvarez felt pain again while hitting in late May, imaging revealed a small fracture.

The 28-year-old outfielder, who has hit 31 homers or more in each of the past four seasons, had been eyeing a return as soon as this weekend at the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now it's uncertain when he'll play.

“We felt like he was close because he had felt so good of late,” Brown said, “but this is certainly news that we didn't want.”

You can watch Brown discuss the setback in the video below.

Also Tuesday, the Astros officially placed shortstop Jeremy Peña on the 10-day injured list with a fractured rib and recalled infielder Shay Whitcomb from Triple-A Sugar Land.

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