Astros take another from the Rangers

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 4 hits from the 3-0 win

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

After an exciting finish to the first game of the series, the Astros looked to take game two on Friday night against the Rangers. Here's a quick rundown and four points from the game:

Final Score: Astros 3, Rangers 0

Record: 24-15, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Justin Verlander (6-1, 2.51 ERA)

Losing pitcher: Lance Lynn (4-3, 5.48 ERA)

1) Altuve exits with an injury

After reaching base by hustling out an infield single, Jose Altuve would try to stay in and run but would eventually get removed from the game with a leg injury. The current status is left hamstring discomfort (a term Astros that fans are all too familiar with) which has him day-to-day. Hopefully, that diagnosis is correct and not something more long-term.

2) Verlander throws seven shutout innings in win

Friday night was just another day at the office for Justin Verlander. He threw seven one-hit innings of shutout baseball, and along the way threw eight strikeouts to move him to 22nd on the all-time list, sitting at 2,774 in his great career so far. The scoreless night also moved his ERA down to 2.51 on the year. The win moves him to 6-1 on the year.

3) Bottom of the order powers through

As proof that there's no easy out in this Houston lineup, it was the 7-8-9 hitters that provided most of the offense in this game. Jake Marisnick got the Astros on the board with a solo home run in the third to make it a 1-0 game. After some quiet innings, Yuli Gurriel and Robinson Chirinos made some noise with back-to-back homers to extend the lead to 3-0.

4) Pressly and Osuna close it out

With Verlander done after seven innings, the Astros looked to their one-two punch of Ryan Pressly and Roberto Osuna to close out the win. Pressly extended his scoreless inning streak to 35 with a 1-2-3 eighth including a strikeout, moving the 3-0 game to the ninth. Roberto Osuna came in looking to grab his tenth save of the year, and with a little help from Josh Reddick for the second consecutive night, was able to do so to close out the victory for Houston.

Up Next: Game three of this four-game set will get started at 7:10 PM tomorrow night in Houston. The Astros will send Gerrit Cole (3-4, 4.17 ERA) to the mound to extend his league-lead in strikeouts. He'll be up against Drew Smyly (0-2, 6.63 ERA) for the Rangers.

The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.

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Nick Caserio's history of drafting injury prone players has become a problem. Composite Getty Image.

Nick Caserio was hired to serve as the general manager (GM) of the Texans on January 7, 2021. Some saw it as another nod to the organization's obsession with the Patriots. Others saw it as the team finally getting their guy after pursuing him previously. They were even hit with a tampering charge while trying to talk to him about the job. Since he's been on the job, there have been highs and lows.

Recently, the news about Kenyon Green and Derek Stingley Jr put a stain on his tenure. Green was placed on season-ending injured reserve (IR) and Stingley Jr is expected to be placed on IR, likely missing six to eight weeks, per Aaron Wilson. Both guys were Caserio's 2022 first rounders. Both guys are starting to look like busts and have fans a little more than just upset.

Green's case was curious because he was said to have needed surgery before he tore his labrum during the Saints preseason game. He had knee surgery this past offseason. There were knee injury concerns when he was coming out of A&M. Adding to his injuries, Green has played poorly. To make matters worse, the Chargers drafted fellow guard Zion Johnson two picks later. Johnson played all 17 games last season as a rookie at right guard and has moved to left guard this season. The pick used to draft Green was part of a trade back with the Eagles. They used the 13th overall pick to take Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis, a guy at a position this team could desperately use.

Stingley Jr was a highly touted recruit coming into LSU as a freshman. He played as well as any corner in the country that year. Oh, and they won a national title with arguably one of the best teams in college football history. His net two years in Baton Rouge were marred with injuries. Some believed his junior year was more him holding back to stay healthy for the draft. It worked because he was taken third overall, one spot ahead of Sauce Gardner. Gardner went on to be an All Pro as a rookie. While he's surrounded by more talent on the Jets' defense, people will forever link them because Stingley Jr hasn't lived up to expectations. He missed six games last season and is set to miss at least that many this season. When he has played, he's looked okay. “Okay” isn't what you want from a guy drafted third overall ahead of the other guy who was widely considered better than him.

For the 2021 draft, Caserio was handcuffed. He had no first or second rounders, and made a few trades that lessened his draft pool from eight to five picks. Of the five guys drafted that year, only Nico Collins seems to be a player. The 2022 draft was more productive. Although Green and Stingley Jr were the headliners and haven't played up to the hype, the others are carrying the load. Jalen Pitre and Dameon PIerce alone make that draft class dope. This past draft was seen as the one to save the franchise so to speak. Getting C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr got the team a franchise quarterback and edge rusher with picks two and three overall. The price paid to move back up to three was hefty and puts more scrutiny on Anderson Jr. They appear, so far, to have also found a couple other nice players. Tank Dell being the hidden gem of this class.

While people can't, and shouldn't, base Caserio's performance strictly off of the guys he's drafted, one must call it into question. The '21 draft was a wash. The '22 draft looks suspect, but has some redeeming qualities. The '23 draft will most likely be his saving grace. But should it? Former Texans GM Rick Smith nailed almost every first rounder he drafted. Even he was almost run out of town because folks didn't like what he did. Why should Caserio be any different? So what if he cleaned up the mess by the previous regime! That's what he was hired to do!

“Keep that same energy!” That phrase is used when people try to hold others to different standards. Where's that energy everyone had for Bill O'Brien, Jack Easterby, Rick Smith, Gary Kubiak, David Culley, and Lovie Smith? When others weren't performing well, their heads were called for. I see some people holding Caserio accountable. For the most part, it appears as if he's getting a bit of a pass. I'll be interested to see if this continues should the team has another subpar season. If that pick they traded to the Cardinals is another top 10 pick and the Browns pick the Texans own isn't...if Green can't come back and/or Stingley Jr doesn't show any signs of being a lockdown corner...then what? Let's hope none of this comes to fruition. If it does, we'll have to revisit this conversation.

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