Houston's losing streak extended to five games
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 8-4 loss
Aug 17, 2019, 6:11 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
After the two teams went thirteen innings on Friday night with the A's ultimately winning, Houston looked to end their four-game skid with a win on Saturday afternoon. Here is a quick rundown of the game:
Final Score: A's 8, Astros 4.
Record: 78-46, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Chris Bassitt (9-5, 3.61 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Rogelio Armenteros (1-1, 4.00 ERA).
1) Astros strike first
While it looked like Houston was going to jump out to an immediate lead in the top of the first after loading the bases, they instead stranded all three runners. However, they would still get on the board first by getting back-to-back singles to lead off the third before an RBI-double by Alex Bregman and sacrifice fly by Yordan Alvarez put them ahead 2-0.
After going down 5-2 in the bottom of the third, Houston would get their next run on a solo home run crushed by Yordan Alvarez in the top of the fifth. That got them within two runs at 5-3 at the time.
2) A poor third inning ruins the afternoon for Armenteros
Rogelio Armenteros looked to be pitching well through the first two innings, allowing just one hit across the first two frames. However, he struggled to get the first out in the bottom of the third, loading the bases on three straight singles before Oakland would put up five runs and take a 5-2 lead.
Armenteros finished that horrible inning, as well as a quick fourth, but with his pitch count rising was not asked to go any further. His final line: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 HR.
3) Alvarez crushes another, but Oakland secures series win
Chris Devenski was the first out of Houston's depleted bullpen, taking over for Armenteros to pitch the bottom of the fifth. He would post another poor appearance, allowing three runs to extend Oakland's lead to 8-3. Collin McHugh was next on the mound in the bottom of the sixth and although he also allowed Oakland to load the bases, was able to leave all runners stranded.
McHugh stayed in the game in the bottom of the seventh and was able to workout around a leadoff double to post a second scoreless inning. In the top of the eighth, Yordan Alvarez drilled his second home run of the day, making it an 8-4 game.
Can't spell Yordan without ROY. #TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/GUG3gdxHz1
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 17, 2019
Joe Smith was the fourth pitcher of the game for Houston, throwing a scoreless bottom of the eighth inning. The Astros would come up empty in the top of the ninth, extending their losing streak to five games while Oakland secured the series win.
Up Next: Houston will conclude this series with the A's and also this road trip with one last game in Oakland on Sunday at 3:07 PM. The Astros will get their third start from Zack Greinke (12-4, 2.91 ERA) as they look to avoid the four-game sweep, while Oakland is expected to counter with Brett Anderson (10-8, 3.95 ERA).
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Early breakdown of how Astros stack up against potential playoff opponents
Sep 17, 2024, 5:03 pm
Though they have plenty of work to do, the Houston Texans are feeling good about their 2-0 start after dropping their first two games last season.
The Texans scored just three points after halftime Sunday night, but a smothering defensive performance allowed them to hold on for a 19-13 win over the Bears. The victory has them in early control in the AFC South after the Colts, Titans and Jaguars have all opened the season 0-2.
It’s the first time since 2016 that Houston has won its first two games.
“I definitely know that Texans football was not what we put on the field (Sunday), at least in the second half,” quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “We’ll definitely be better, for sure."
Stroud threw for 260 yards and a touchdown, but the Texans punted on five of their seven possessions in the second half and fumbled on another drive. Their only points after halftime came on a field goal early in the fourth quarter.
“Second half we were just flat,” Stroud said. “Just needed a big play or just needed (to) stack plays really. We just couldn’t find our rhythm.”
One thing that slowed the Texans on Sunday was their inability to run the ball effectively. Houston managed just 75 yards rushing against the Bears after leading the NFL with 213 yards in Week 1.
“They had a lot of penetration,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We weren’t able to have the lanes that we had the previous weeks. Something we have to clean up on the offensive side and make sure we just continue to get a head on the hat no matter what they show us.”
The running game was slowed because of an ankle injury to Joe Mixon, who had 159 yards rushing in the opener. He was injured early in the third quarter and returned near the end of the period, but had just two carries for 5 yards the rest of the game as he dealt with the injury. He finished with nine carries for 25 yards.
Ryans said that Mixon got “rolled up” and that it’s too early to know if he’ll play next week.
What’s working
The Texans were relentless in their pressure on rookie quarterback Caleb Williams Sunday night. Houston pressured Williams, the top overall pick in the draft, on 36 of his 37 pass attempts, according to NextGenStats.
Defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter combined for 17 pressures and the Texans piled up seven sacks, which is tied for the second most in franchise history.
Houston had six different players with a sack Sunday night and the team’s nine sacks through two games ranks second in the NFL behind Minnesota’s 11 entering Monday.
What needs help
The Texans must get their running game back on track next week, which will be a tough task if Mixon can’t play. They could be without their top two running backs Sunday with Dameon Pierce dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of the game against Chicago.
Stock up
K Ka′imi Fairbairn has been great this season, with Ryans crediting him for Sunday night’s win. He was 4-for-4 against the Bears, making kicks of 59, 56, 53 and 47 yards. He also made three field goals of 50-plus yards in Week 1 to become the first kicker in NFL history to make five or more field goals of 50 yards or longer in a two-game span.
His 59-yard field goal on Sunday night was the second-longest in franchise history behind a 61-yard kick he made in 2021.
“He’s been consistent,” Ryans said. “He’s on it. He’s the reason why we’re standing here. We talk a lot about offense and defense (but) the kicking game is the reason why we won this game.”
Stock down
RB Cam Akers. Pushed into action because of injuries, Akers fumbled on the Chicago 4 with about 6½ minutes left Sunday. The Bears recovered the ball and it led to a field goal that got them within a score with less than three minutes left.
Injuries
Mixon and Pierce are the main injuries the team is dealing with this week.
Key number
252 — Entering Monday, wide receiver Nico Collins leads the NFL with 252 yards receiving, which is the second most in franchise history in the first two games of a season. Collins, who had a career-high 1,297 yards receiving last season, had 135 yards receiving and a touchdown Sunday night for the seventh 100-yard game of his career.
Next steps
Stroud and Houston’s offense will look to clean up their play and move the ball more effectively when they face an early test in a visit to the Minnesota Vikings, who are also 2-0, on Sunday.