Houston's offense struggles in loss
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 4-1 loss
Jun 8, 2019, 5:39 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
The Astros were able to take game one of this series against the Orioles on Friday night, though it took eleven innings to pull off. Houston and Baltimore were right back at it on Saturday afternoon, and here's how the middle game of the series went:
Final Score: Orioles 4, Astros 1.
Record: 44-22, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Paul Fry (1-3, 3.29 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Will Harris (1-1, 1.54 ERA).
1) Reddick gets hit 1,000 in an mostly quiet offensive day
After being blanked through the first five innings, Houston finally threatened in the bottom of the sixth inning. Back-to-back singles put runners on the corners with no outs and a chance to erase a 1-0 deficit. They'd come away with just one run, getting an RBI from Yuli Gurriel on a sac fly to tie the game 1-1.
That would be the lone run the Astros would manage during the game, though Josh Reddick was able to notch a milestone with the 1,000th hit of his career with a single in the bottom of the second.
2) Valdez fills starter spot well
Framber Valdez was terrific in his first start of 2019, filling the vacant spot in the rotation after Corbin Martin was optioned back to AAA after some rough starts. Valdez didn't allow a run until the sixth inning, a solo home run which broke the scoreless tie.
Besides that one hiccup, Valdez was electric and had a great day, recording efficient innings on his way to a seven-inning afternoon. His final line: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 1 HR.
3) Orioles go-ahead in the eighth, add insurance in the ninth
Will Harris took over for Valdez in the top of the eighth but would deal with a lot of traffic. Baltimore started the inning with a single followed by a double to get runners on the corners with no outs. Bregman made a great heads-up play on a ground ball to catch the runner between third and home to save a run and keep it a tie game.
Harris was able to get another ground ball in the next at-bat which had double-play potential but instead an errant throw by Jack Mayfield after getting the out at second allowed the go-ahead run to score. Reymin Guduan pitched the top of the ninth, but after getting two strikeouts to start the inning allowed a walk then two-run home run to put the game out of reach.
Up Next: The Astros will wrap up this series with the Orioles with the rubber game tomorrow at 1:10 PM. Wade Miley (5-3, 3.39 ERA) will be on the mound for Houston looking win the series, while Baltimore is expected to start Dylan Bundy (3-6, 4.64 ERA).
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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Houston Texans receiver Stefon Diggs will miss the rest of the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee Sunday.
Coach DeMeco Ryans made the announcement Tuesday, calling Diggs being out a huge loss.
“It hurts our team to hear that news,” Ryans said. “He’s been such an important part to our team and just everything that he brought, not only on the field, but off the field. The energy, the leader, the way he worked every single day. He brought a lot to our team and we have to pick up the slack — a lot of guys have to pick up the slack.”
Diggs suffered the non-contact injury in the third quarter of Houston’s win over the Colts on Sunday. He was running a route and pulled up and grabbed at his right knee before falling to the ground.
The 30-year-old Diggs had 47 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns in eight games in his first season in Houston after a blockbuster trade from the Bills.
“It's not easy," quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “It's not something that I have a whole bunch of words for. I'm just ... trying to just wrap my mind around what happened but it's tough. You try to think positively about it but there's not a bunch of positive thoughts and I just really feel bad for him.”
Diggs is a four-time Pro Bowler who has had at least 1,000 yards receiving in each of the past six seasons, highlighted by his 2020 season where he led the NFL with a career-high 1,535 yards.
The injury is another blow to a team that is already without leading receiver Nico Collins, who is out at least one more game after being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
With Diggs out, the Texans will need Tank Dell to take on a bigger role in the offense Thursday night when they visit the New York Jets. Dell’s production has dropped off this season after a standout rookie year where he had 709 yards receiving with seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg.
He has 229 yards receiving this season and scored his second touchdown in Sunday’s win which improved the AFC South-leading Texans to 6-2.
“Once you lose one of the star players, everybody has got to step up,” Dell said. “Even if you are one of the star players, you still have to step up and do more and produce more. I know all of us are more than capable of doing that. So we are going to try to go out there and make plays.”
The Texans also have receivers Robert Woods, Xavier Hutchinson and John Metchie, but none of those players has contributed much this season. The three players have combined for just 146 yards receiving.
“Other leaders have got to step up,” Stroud said. “We need a leader in that room to step up now since (Diggs) and Nico are both out.”
Stroud added that he has full confidence in his remaining receivers and knows they'll take advantage of their opportunities.
“That means a lot,” Metchie said. “It shows that my teammates have a lot of faith and belief in me based off the work that they’ve seen me do. And for me, it just means that when I get out there, I’m just going to ride as hard for them as they do for me.”
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Fans of Houston sports and Houston food can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11 at 8th Wonder. Find out more about it here.