Astros drop game 2 of the series
Astros daily report: Rays 4, Astros 2
Mar 29, 2019, 8:48 pm
Astros drop game 2 of the series
A quick recap of Friday night's Astros game against the Rays:
Final Score: Rays 4, Astros 2
Record: 1-1, second in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Charlie Morton (1-0).
Losing pitcher: Gerrit Cole (0-1).
Star of the game: Despite the score, Gerrit Cole looked dominant for most of his start, giving up just one earned run to go with three unearned after an error extended an inning and cost the Astros their 2-0 lead. Cole managed to get 10 strikeouts over his six innings and finished with 101 pitches.
Notes: After Cole and Morton both got out to hot starts with a combined eight strikeouts over the first two scoreless innings, the offenses traded blows in the third with Michael Brantley getting a two-RBI double in the top of the inning before an error in the bottom of the inning led to three runs for the Rays to take a 3-2 lead. Tampa Bay extended that to 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run off of Cole, then their bullpen took over and wrapped up Houston's first loss of the year, tying the series 1-1.
Up next: The Astros will be back at it for game three of four tomorrow at 5:10 PM. Tyler Glasnow will be on the mound for the Rays while Colin McHugh will return to the mound for as a starter for the Astros after playing his role in the bullpen last 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!