Houston moves to 4-0

Astros stay perfect, complete sweep of A's

Jose Urquidy pitching for the Astros
Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

Jose Urquidy had a decent start Sunday, but it was Houston's bats that won them the game

Having outscored the A's heavily through the first three games to jump out to a 3-0 record and lead in this series, the Astros entered Sunday's game looking to complete the four-game sweep. They would do just that and in the same fashion as the prior three.

Jose Urquidy had a decent start, allowing just two runs, but it was once again Houston's offense that sealed the victory to improve them to 4-0 and take an early stranglehold on the AL West.

Final Score: Astros 9, A's 2

Astros' Record: 4-0, 1st in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Brandon Bielak (1-0)

Losing Pitcher: Sean Manaea (0-1)

Houston jumps ahead early, again

Houston wasted no time trying to set the tone of the game on Sunday, with Kyle Tucker providing an early spark via a solo home run to jump out to a quick 1-0 advantage in the top of the first. Oakland would respond in their half of the inning, tying the game with an RBI-double during a lengthy sequence for Jose Urquidy.

In his first game back with his former team, Jason Castro made his presence known in the top of the second, putting the Astros back ahead with a two-run opposite-field homer to make it 3-1. Yuli Gurriel added two more in the next frame, getting a two-out two-RBI double to extend the lead to 5-1.

Blowing it open late

After the lengthy first, Jose Urquidy would settle in and breeze through the next few innings, not allowing another hit until a one-out triple in the fifth which would end his day after surpassing 100 pitches. His final line: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 101 P.

Brandon Bielak would take over for Urquidy, allowing an RBI-groundout to bring in the runner on third and cut the lead to 5-2 before finishing the fifth. Houston would get that run back in the top of the sixth, getting back-to-back singles to start the inning with runners on the corners before Myles Straw would get the RBI-groundout to make it 6-2. A rare error by Matt Chapman would keep the inning alive and two runners on base, setting up Chas McCormick for his first major-league home run, bringing in three more to make it 9-2.

Astros complete the four-game sweep

Bielak remained on the mound, completing an impressive outing by taking the game the rest of the way, retiring every batter he faced, all 14, en route to the win. Houston completed the four-game sweep in dominating fashion, sending the A's to 0-4, with the Dodgers coming to Oakland next.

Up Next:The Astros will remain in California, heading to Anaheim to face the Angels for a short two-game series on Monday and Tuesday. The opener will get underway at 8:38 PM Central Monday evening, with Luis Garcia (0-1, 2.92 ERA in 2020) getting a shot as Houston's fifth starter, for now. Jose Quintana will make his first regular-season start for Los Angeles after spending the last four years with the Chicago Cubs.

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The Texans are the class of the division. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

The Houston Texans received a lot of praise for their moves in free agency across various outlets. And for good reason, most people believe the team got significantly better with the additions of Danielle Hunter, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Denico Autry among others.

But there's another factor to consider this offseason. How much have the other teams in the AFC South improved?

When looking at the PFF grades in free agency, the Colts received a B-minus. Most of the Colts moves this offseason involved spending a lot of money re-signing their own players. Which is great in theory, but it's hard to improve the overall quality of your roster when you're bringing back players that were already there to begin with. A lot will be riding on player development for the Colts to see a big jump this season. A healthy quarterback wouldn't hurt either.

The Jaguars have made some big additions financially this offseason by signing receiver Gabe Davis and defensive tackle Arik Armstead. They also lost the top receiver on the market, Calvin Ridley, to the Titans. Gabe Davis wasn't able to establish himself as a reliable No. 2 receiver with Josh Allen throwing him the ball in Buffalo. So it's hard to believe he'll take the next step in Jacksonville. Their best move of the offseason might have been retaining edge rusher Josh Allen by using the franchise tag on him. So what did PFF think of Jacksonville's offseason? They received a B-minus, just like the Colts.

The Titans have a lot of turnover heading into the 2024 season, and not just on the roster. They have a new head coach in Brian Callahan, who's looking to revamp Tennessee's offense. Early in free agency, they agreed to terms with former Cowboys running back Tony Pollard, signing him to a 3-year deal at $8 million per season. Which is more money than the Ravens are paying for Derrick Henry, who left the Titans in free agency. Calvin Ridley was the most notable addition to the squad, he received a 4-year, $92 million deal. And while this could be viewed as an overpay, at least he gives the Titans' offense some upside. Their receiving corps looks a lot more dangerous with Ridley added to DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks.

They also spent big at the center position, adding Lloyd Cushenberry on a 4-year, $50 million contract.

Because the Titans spent a lot of money on some highly coveted players, PFF gave them a B.

Now that brings us to the Texans. The Texans re-signed some of their own players like Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown. But they also made some big splashes with Hunter, Autry, Al-Shaair, and Joe Mixon. But the Texans spent their money in a more conservative way by not handing out many contracts over two years in length.

The Texans managed to add the best pass rusher in free agency with Hunter, but it's only a two-year deal. The overall talent level is going up on this roster, and GM Nick Caserio isn't having to sign players to long contracts that could come back and haunt him.

That's why we're seeing post-free agency power rankings coming out with Houston in the Top 10. And that's also why PFF gave the Texans an A for their moves in free agency.

Be sure to check out the video above as Craig from Sports Talk Extra takes an in-depth look at PFF's grades for the AFC South, and much more!

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