Astros get memorial day win over Cubs
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 6-5 win
May 27, 2019, 4:23 pm
Astros get memorial day win over Cubs
With both teams losing on Sunday, the Astros and Cubs wanted a victory on Memorial Day to get back in the win column and start this highly-anticipated series on a good note. The game also marked the MLB-debut of Jack Mayfield for Houston. Here's the result of Monday's game:
Final Score: Astros 6, Cubs 5.
Record: 36-19, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Gerrit Cole (5-5, 4.02 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Cole Hamels (4-1, 4.02 ERA).
Chicago, whose fans showed up in force to Minute Maid Park, received a lead off the bat of Anthony Rizzo in the bottom of the first. Rizzo drilled a ball from Gerrit Cole into the upper right-field deck, giving the Cubs a quick 2-0 lead. Cole rebounded quickly from it, though, and would go on to have a great day.
After the home run, he allowed just two other hits while striking out a dozen, matching his season-high and bringing his total to 112 for the year. His final line: six innings, three hits, two runs, one walk, and twelve strikeouts.
Jack Mayfield got his first major league hit out of the way in his first at-bat which came in the bottom of the second inning. He didn't miss a home run by much, doubling off the left-field scoreboard which put runners on second and third. Tyler White took advantage of that with a sacrifice fly to trim Chicago's lead to 2-1.
The Astros got after Hamels again in the bottom of the third, getting back-to-back RBI hits from Yuli Gurriel and Robinson Chirinos to take a 3-2 led. That brought Mayfield to the plate again who notched his first RBI with a groundout to extend the lead to 4-2. The scoring wouldn't stop there, Derek Fisher would deliver an RBI-single to make it 5-2, followed by Jake Marisnick with an RBI-groundout to extend the lead to 6-2.
With Cole's day over after six innings, it was up to the bullpen to hold on to the four-run lead for the final three. Hector Rondon took over on the mound in the seventh but after allowing a two-out RBI-single left in favor of Will Harris who would get the last out of the inning thanks to a great diving catch by Tyler White.
Ryan Pressly had the eighth in the 6-3 game and was able to work around a one-out walk to get through the inning scoreless. In the ninth, Roberto Osuna took over and had a rough time, allowing a leadoff solo home run and then a one-out solo home run, getting the Cubs within a run, but would eventually finish off the game for the Memorial Day victory.
Up Next: Game two of this series between Houston and Chicago will have a usual weeknight start of 7:10 PM tomorrow. The pitching matchup will feature Corbin Martin (1-1, 4.97 ERA) for the Astros looking to shrug off a couple of poor starts as he faces Jon Lester (3-3, 2.68 ERA) for the Cubs.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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!