Astros lock up series win with 3-1 victory

Astros daily report: Astros 3, Mariners 1

Chris Campise
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.

astros houston astros mlb

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

MONEY TALKS

Evaluating the 3 worst current Texans contracts

Paying a kicker 17 million dollars? Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

Head coach/general manager Bill O'Brien engineered questionable moves during the off-season that already have come back to bite the Texans in the butt. Fans have yet to see the Texans on the right track, at least on television for now. Here are the top three, or bottom three, contracts that have Houston raising eyebrows, shrugging shoulders, and shaking heads.

Randall Cobb: 3 years, $27 million

The 30-year-old wide receiver has been quiet so far this 0-2 season with seven catches for 82 yards. New offensive coordinator Tim Kelly is favoring "12 and 21" schemes which render Cobb the third option behind Will Fuller and Brandin Cooks. This could change now with Fuller nursing a hamstring injury sustained against the Ravens. To be fair, with no preseason games or extended practice, Cobb has not had time to build chemistry with quarterback Deshaun Watson. So let's mark him, "bad contract," but jury still deliberating.

David Johnson: 3 years, $39 million

Johnson has carried the ball 22 times for 111 yards. Normally, these would be acceptable, even commendable stats. However, Johnson carries the burden of being involved in the trade that sent DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona. BTW, Hopkins in tearing it up in Arizona with 22 receptions for 219 yards. Also, more evidence condemning Johnson's contract, the Texans could have made a run at Leonard Fournette (17 carries for 108 yards) or Adrian Peterson (21 carries for 134 yards), both chewing up more turf for less money.

Whitney Mercilus: 4 years, $54 million

Here's another 30-year-old who was being paid big and producing little. He was MIA against the Ravens with no tackles and no sacks, despite being on the field for 70 percent of the Ravens snaps. Mercilus was able to squeeze the Texans for huge money last year when he picked up the workload of injured J.J. Watt.


Honorable Mention

Ka'imi Fairbairn: 4 years, $17,650,000

Fairbairn is the third highest-paid kicker in the NFL. Fairbairn had a rough start against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1, missing an extra point and a deep 51-yard field goal attempt. Meanwhile, up in Dallas, Greg 'The Leg' Zuerlein is being paid half of what Fairbairn makes, but knocking them down from the logo, including a last-second, game-winning field goal to beat the Falcons. Former Texans kicker Randy Bullock is enjoying greater success in Cincinnati for considerably fewer dollars, too. Fun fact: Fairbairn is paid more than most Texans secondary defenders.


But really, the worst, and most regrettable Texans contract of all might be Bill O'Brien's deal- 4 years, $20 million.

texans nfl houston texans

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome