Astros Wallop the Mariners for Series Sweep

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 2 hits from the 21-1 win

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

After taking the first three of this four-game series with the Mariners, the Astros looked to make it a sweep with a victory on Sunday as they continue to battle for home-field advantage in the postseason. Here is a quick recap of the series finale:

Final Score: Astros 21, Mariners 1.

Record: 94-50, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Gerrit Cole (16-5, 2.73 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Felix Hernandez (1-6, 6.96 ERA).

1) Houston has a field day at the plate

It was a highly successful day against Seattle's pitching for Houston's offense. It started against Felix Hernandez whom the Astros scored four runs in the second inning after a costly error and two-run home run by Jake Marisnick. They followed that up with a nine-run third inning, knocking Fernandez out of the game as they would get RBIs from Aledmys Diaz, Kyle Tucker, Martin Maldonado, a three-run home run by George Springer and two two-RBI doubles, both in the same inning, by Yordan Alvarez.

After Seattle got on the board with one run in the top of the fourth, the Astros pushed the lead further on a two-RBI double by Kyle Tucker in the bottom of the fifth, making it 15-1. Yordan Alvarez helped score another in the bottom of the sixth, hitting a ground-rule double, then added two more to make it six RBIs on the day as part of a five-run bottom of the seventh to make it a 21-1 advantage for Houston.

2) Cole decimates Seattle's lineup 

With all the offense, Gerrit Cole had himself in line for an easy win. That didn't shorten his day, though, as he would work quickly in inning after inning while racking up another double-digit strikeout start.

He allowed a solo home run in the top of the fourth, the only run he would allow on the day. Though he likely could have finished the game, he would be shut down after eight incredible innings. Cole's final line: 8 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 15 K, 1 HR.

Chris Devenski took over for Cole to wrap things up in the ninth. He would retire Seattle in order, completing the four-game sweep and improving Houston to 94-50 on the year and keeping them on top of the overall league standings.

Up Next: Houston will continue this homestand by starting a three-game series with the A's Monday at 7:10 PM. The pitching matchup for the opener is Zack Greinke (14-5, 3.09 ERA) for the Astros going against former-Astro Mike Fiers (14-3, 3.51 ERA) for Oakland.

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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