Astros lock up series win with 3-1 victory
Astros daily report: Astros 3, Mariners 1
Apr 13, 2019, 10:57 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
After the big win on Friday night, the Astros looked to secure the series win with Justin Verlander on the mound Saturday night. Here's a rundown of the game:
Final Score: Astros 3, Mariners 1
Record: 10-5, second in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Justin Verlander (2-0).
Losing pitcher: Felix Hernandez (1-1).
Star of the game: It was vintage Justin Verlander on Saturday night. One of his very few mistakes on the night was a pitch that resulted in a solo home run for Seattle. Otherwise, Verlander was completely dominant in his six innings of work, getting eleven big strikeouts and giving up just one run on two hits.
Notes: After the offensive fireworks the night before, it took a few innings to get the scoring started on Saturday night. It was Robinson Chirinos who got Houston on the board with a solo home run in the top of the third, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead. Michael Brantley extended the lead to 2-0 in the third with an RBI single. Mitch Haniger managed one of the two hits against Verlander, his a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth which made it 2-1. Jose Altuve pushed the lead back to two runs in the top of the fifth with yet another home run, a solo shot which put his streak at five games and made it a 3-1 game. After Verlander hit 105 pitches through six innings, the Astros went to their bullpen to finish out the game. Will Harris had the seventh and worked around a two-out single then ground-rule double to get the last out and keep the Mariners from scoring. Ryan Pressly took over in the eighth and retired the side in order, then Roberto Osuna came in for a successful save in the ninth, his sixth on the year.
Up Next: The Astros and Mariners will wrap this series up tomorrow with a 3:10 PM first pitch. Gerrit Cole will start for Houston and look to get into the win column, currently sitting at 0-2 on the year despite some decent starts. He'll go up against Marco Gonzalez for Seattle who is 4-0 on the season.
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!