Houston's winning streak ends
Astros drop opener to A's in back-and-forth battle
May 18, 2021, 11:58 pm
Houston's winning streak ends
Houston's bullpen couldn't hold back Oakland on Tuesday.
After a successful ten-game homestand where they went 8-2 to climb back to a half-game deficit in the division standings, the Astros arrived at Oakland Coliseum Tuesday night to face the A's. A win would put them back on top of the AL West, but their bullpen would not be up for the job Tuesday night, allowing the A's to take the opener.
Final Score: A's 6, Astros 5
Astros' Record: 24-18, second in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Yusmeiro Petit (5-0)
Losing Pitcher: Bryan Abreu (2-2)
The Astros began this series the same way they won several of their games over their recent hot streak: jumping out to an early lead. With two outs in the top of the first, Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel reached base on back-to-back hits, bringing Yordan Alvarez to the plate, who would drive both in on a two-RBI double to give Houston a 2-0 lead.
This ball landed 459-feet away from home plate. 🤯#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/se7hCi6qHx
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 19, 2021
Kyle Tucker continued the tear he has been on by crushing a leadoff solo homer 459 feet in the top of the fourth. Although Cristian Javier would only allow five hits over his six innings, three of them were costly. He allowed two solo homers to Ramon Laureano, one in the bottom of the first and another in the bottom of the fourth, both cutting the lead to one run at the time.
Nearing the end of his night, it looked as though he might leave in line with the win with two strikeouts to start the bottom of the sixth, but a third solo homer by Oakland would tie the game before Javier finished the frame. His final line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, 3 HR, 95 P.
That set up a battle of the bullpens for the final three innings. Houston regained the lead in the top of the seventh on an RBI double by Michael Brantley, who would move to third then scored on consecutive sac flies, making it a 5-3 game. Enoli Paredes took over for Javier in the bottom of the seventh but would get just one out while loading the bases on a single and two walks, which prompted Dusty Baker to make a quick switch to Andre Scrubb. Scrubb allowed a sacrifice fly to bring Oakland back within a run at 5-4 but would hold them there to finish the inning.
Ryne Stanek took over out of the bullpen in the bottom of the eighth. A leadoff walk would bite him, as it would become the game-tying run on an RBI-double with one out. He wouldn't get through the inning, getting just another out before the Astros moved on to Bryan Abreu, who put an end to the inning on one pitch.
After a scoreless top half by their offense, Houston sent Abreu back out to try and force extras. A one-out walk would put the winning runner on base, who moved to third on a single. Laureano would bring in another run, this one the biggest, on a walk-off sac fly, moving Oakland up to 1.5 games ahead of Houston in the division.
Up Next: The middle game of this three-game set will be another 8:40 PM Central start on Wednesday. Frankie Montas (5-2, 4.93 ERA) will be on the mound for Oakland, while Zack Greinke (3-1, 4.18 ERA) will make the start for Houston.
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!