Astros secure series win against Cubs

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 4 hits from the 9-6 win

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 4 hits from the 9-6 win
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Houston had the chance to secure the series win against Chicago on Tuesday night after the win on Memorial Day. With injuries piling up, the game marked another debut, this time for catcher Garret Stubbs. Here is a recap of the game:

Final Score: Astros 9, Cubs 6.

Record: 37-19, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Josh James (2-0, 5.10 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Jon Lester (3-4, 3.59 ERA).

1) Memorable debut for Stubbs 

Garret Stubbs, just like Jack Mayfield the day before, squared up a ball in his first major league at-bat to record a double as his first hit. In his next appearance, he tied the game 3-3 on a blooper RBI-single. He'd finish 2-for-4 with an RBI at the plate while catching five different pitchers behind it in the win.

2) Forgettable night for Martin

While Stubbs had a great debut, Corbin Martin had his third straight rough appearance. Martin worked around a couple of singles in the first for a scoreless inning but got hammered in the top of the second as the Cubs would hit three solo home runs in the span of four batters.

He'd come back and work around a leadoff walk for a scoreless third, but with his pitch count rising and after allowing a two-out walk, would see his night come to an end. His final line: 3.2 IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 4K.

3) Strong offensive showing

Yuli Gurriel started the scoring on Tuesday night with an RBI-double to put the Astros up 1-0 in the bottom of the first. After going down 3-1, Alex Bregman answered with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the third, trimming the lead to 3-2.

Stubbs notched his first RBI in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game, then Houston went on to double up the Cubs with an RBI-single from Derek Fisher then a two-RBI double by Michael Brantley, making it a 6-3 Houston lead. In the bottom of the sixth, after Chicago had just tied the game in the top half, Bregman delivered his second home run of the night, a two-run bomb to put the Astros back in front, 8-6.

They didn't stop there; Tony Kemp hit a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh, stole second, moved to third on an error, then scored on an RBI-double from Jake Marisnick to give Houston an insurance run at 9-6.

4) Bullpen tasked with providing long relief

With Martin's night done after just three and two-thirds innings, the Astros went to Josh James to eat up a few innings. James finished off the fourth with a strikeout, then racked up two more in a scoreless fifth. In the sixth, though, he'd let the Cubs come right back with a two-run home run followed immediately by a solo shot to make it a 6-6 game.

With a new 8-6 lead, Hector Rondon took over for the seventh and with a little assistance from a great catch in foul territory by Tony Kemp, got through a scoreless inning. Ryan Pressly came in, as usual, for the eighth, and was able to work around a leadoff double to maintain the three-run lead.

Roberto Osuna was brought in for another save opportunity in the top of the ninth. He saved fans the theatrics of the day before, getting through the inning with no runs scored to complete the 9-6 win and give Houston the series victory.

Up Next: The Astros and Cubs will wrap up this inter-league series tomorrow night with a 7:10 PM start time for the final game. The pitching matchup will be Wade Miley (5-2, 3.32 ERA) who will try to complete the sweep for Houston facing off with Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 3.34 ERA) for Chicago.

The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.

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This season is officially upon us! Composite Getty Image.

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!

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