Astros complete the sweep for sixth straight win
Astros daily report: Astros 8, Yankees 6
Apr 10, 2019, 10:11 pm
Astros complete the sweep for sixth straight win
Houston was looking to make it a clean sweep on Wednesday night against the Yankees. Here's how the game panned out:
Final Score: Astros 8, Yankees 6
Record: 8-5, second in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Collin McHugh (2-1).
Losing pitcher: James Paxton (1-2).
Star of the game: No surprise here, Jose Altuve hammered two solo homers tonight to make it three straight games with a home run, proving that he's completely back in the zone after his late-season injuries last year held him back.
Notes: The Yankees came out swinging early, getting a game-leadoff home run off of Collin McHugh to take an immediate 1-0 advantage. The Astros responded right away, though, with Jose Altuve getting a solo home run to make it three straight games and tie things up at 1-1 before Yuli Gurriel put Houston in front 2-1 with an RBI-triple. Carlos Correa extended the lead further in the bottom of the third, knocking a ball to the right field fence for an RBI to make it 3-1. The Yankees battled back, getting a couple of no-out hits in the top of the fifth, followed by a sac fly to trim the lead to one at 3-2, but McHugh did well to limit the damage there and keep Houston ahead. Altuve struck again in the bottom of the fifth, another solo shot to make it 4-2. The train kept moving in that inning, with Carlos Correa blasting a two-run home run of his own to extend the lead to 6-2, then Jake Marisnick getting a two-out RBI-single to make it 7-2.
McHugh would finish six innings of two-run baseball, getting nine strikeouts in another good showing in his early season. Chris Devenski pitched a scoreless seventh, then Josh James took over in the eighth, allowing a two-run home run to get the Yankees within three at 7-4 and put two more on base without recording an out. That prompted A.J. Hinch to go to Hector Rondon, who would also struggle, allowing a single and sac fly to get the Yankees within one at 7-6. Ryan Pressly entered to get the last out of the eighth and ended the Yankees rally for that inning. The offense provided some insurance in the bottom of the inning with Marisnick leading things off with a single then scoring on an RBI from George Springer to give a little cushion at 8-6, making things somewhat less stressful for Pressly who came back in for the save in the ninth.
Up next: The Astros will get the day off tomorrow before starting a big three-game series against the division-leading Mariners on the road in Seattle this weekend. Friday night's game will get underway at 9:10 PM Central and will feature Wade Miley on the mound for Houston opposite Wade LeBlanc for Seattle.
The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!