Astros win their home opener

Astros daily report: Astros 3, A's 2

Chris Campise
Apr 5, 2019, 10:14 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The Astros played their first game in front of the home crowd at Minute Maid Park on Friday night against the A's. Here's a quick recap:

Final Score: Astros 3, A's 2.

Record: 3-5, fourth in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Collin McHugh (1-1).

Losing pitcher: Frankie Montas (1-1).

Star of the game: Carlos Correa has been very strong to start his season, and showed more of that strength tonight with a few great plays on defense then arguably the biggest hit of the night, the solo home run in the bottom of the fourth which gave Houston the lead they never relinquished.

Notes: After going scoreless the first two innings, the A's looked to strike first, getting a leadoff double in the top of the third before eventually loading the bases with two outs, but McHugh got a big strikeout of Khris Davis to end the threat. The Astros would take advantage, getting an RBI-single from Alex Bregman in the bottom of the inning to make it 1-0. A leadoff walk in the top of the fourth would bite McHugh after the runner advanced to third on a couple of groundouts then scoring on a two-out single to tie the game 1-1. Carlos Correa gave the Astros the lead right back in the bottom of the inning, though, with a solo home run to make it 2-1. Houston would load the bases in the same inning but left all three runners stranded. McHugh would hold on to the one-run lead, getting through six innings before Houston went to their bullpen in the top of the seventh to bring out Hector Rondón who threw a scoreless frame. The Astros extended their lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI-double from Jose Altuve, then Ryan Pressly held things with a scoreless eighth. Roberto Osuna, despite giving up a run to get the A's within a run, would get the save.

Up next: This series against Oakland will continue tomorrow night with first pitch at 6:10 PM. Wade Miley will get his second start for Houston while Aaron Brooks will be on the mound for the A's. Houston would take their first series of the year with a win.

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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.

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