Houston wins both games against Oakland

Astros sweep doubleheader against A's to gain ground in AL West

Astros Michael Brantley, Kyle Tucker
Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

Astros Michael Brantley, Kyle Tucker

After the shortened series with the Angels due to hurricane Laura, then protesting Friday night's game to bring awareness to social injustice, the Astros played their first games in four days on Saturday afternoon. It was a doubleheader to make up Friday's game, giving Houston the chance to make a big move in the AL West standings if they could sweep the two seven-inning games against the division-leading Oakland A's. Here is a rundown of Saturday's doubleheader:

Game 1

Final Score (7 innings): Astros 4, A's 2.

Record: 18-14, second in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Lance McCullers Jr. (3-2, 5.06 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Chris Bassitt (2-2, 3.72 ERA).

Astros jump ahead early against Bassitt

After a quick top of the first by Lance McCullers Jr. on the mound, the Astros put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the inning. It started with a walk by Michael Branley, followed by a double by Yuli Gurriel. That put two runners on base, which Kyle Tucker would take advantage of, hitting a three-run home run to give Houston the early 3-0 lead.

Oakland would get on the board in the top of the fourth, getting runners on the corners with no outs after a double and single to start the frame. McCullers Jr. did well to limit the damage to one run, allowing just an RBI-groundout as he would get the next three batters in order, holding on to the lead at 3-1. Josh Reddick got the run back immediately in the bottom of the inning, leading it off with a solo home run to make it a three-run game once again. The next two batters reached base, chasing Chris Bassitt out of the game after just three innings pitched.

McCullers Jr. gets the win as Houston gains a game in the division

Other than allowing the run in the fourth, McCullers Jr. was doing well through five innings and returned for the sixth. He fielded a one-out groundball in that inning, but an errant throw to first would allow the runner to reach and advance to third. That turned into an RBI-single later in the frame, cutting the lead to 4-2. He would finish the inning, ending his day as Houston went to their closer in the seventh. McCullers Jr.'s final line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 0 HR, 93 P.

Ryan Pressly took over in the top of the seventh to close the game out. He did so, retiring Oakland in order as Houston trimmed a game off Oakland's division lead, with a chance at another less than an hour later.

Game 2

Final Score (7 innings): Astros 6, A's 3.

Record: 19-14, second in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Zack Greinke (2-0, 2.68 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Frankie Montas (2-3, 6.06 ERA).

Oakland scores first, but Houston responds

The A's would counter the Astros and get on the scoreboard first in game two, getting a solo home run by Ramon Laureano in the first at-bat of the game against Zack Grienke. Kyle Tucker would once again be the difference-maker in Houston's half of the first, bringing in three runs on a bases-clearing triple to give the Astros a 3-1 lead.

In the bottom of the second, they extended the lead on a home run by George Springer that flew out so quickly and far that statcast couldn't even estimate it. That made it a 5-1 game, but Oakland would chip away over the next few innings.

A's trim down the lead against Greinke

After the leadoff homer in the first, Zack Greinke was able to settle in and keep Oakland from scoring any further in the first three innings. Matt Chapman would change that with a solo home run to start the fourth, then back-to-back one-out hits by Oakland in the fifth would set up an RBI-groundout to cut Houston's lead to two runs at 5-3.

Greinke would finish the fifth, but with his pitch count at 96, would not go any further. His final line: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 2 HR, 96 P.

Houston's bullpen completes the doubleheader sweep

Blake Taylor would take over for Greinke to start the top of the sixth. He would complete the inning, erasing a leadoff walk with a strikeout and double play to put Houston three outs away from the win. In the bottom of the inning, Martin Maldonado led off with a single, then would eventually score as two more singles moved him to third to set up a sac-fly by Yuli Gurriel to make it 6-3.

Ryan Pressly, who was able to get the save in the first game on just eight pitches, was able to enter for a second save in the top of the seventh. He completed the impressive feat, giving Houston the doubleheader sweep and gaining two games in the AL West standings, putting them 2.5 games behind Oakland for the division lead.

Up Next: Houston will get back to their regular schedule on Sunday, with the finale of this three-game set against Oakland at 1:10 PM. The expected pitching matchup is Framber Valdez (3-2, 2.35 ERA) for the Astros going opposite Jesus Luzardo (2-1, 3.74 ERA) for the A's.

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CJ Stroud can secure his second playoff win on Saturday. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Everyone raved about the leadership of second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud this week as the Houston Texans prepared for their wild-card playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Everyone, that is, except the man himself.

“I don’t think I’m a great (leader),” Stroud said sheepishly. “I don’t know. That’s probably a bad thing to say about yourself, but I don’t think I’m all that when it comes to leading. I just try to be myself.”

But the 23-year-old Stroud simply being himself is exactly what makes him the undisputed leader of this team.

“C.J. is authentic, he’s real,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “It’s not only here, it’s in the locker room around the guys and that’s what leadership is to me. As you evolve as a leader, you just be authentic to yourself. You don’t have to make up anything or make up a speech or make up something to say to guys. C.J. is being C.J.”

Sixth-year offensive lineman Tytus Howard said he knew early on that Stroud would be special.

“He has that aura about him that when he speaks, everybody listens,” he said.

Stroud has helped the Texans win the AFC South and reach the playoffs for a second straight season after they had combined for just 11 wins in the three years before he was drafted second overall.

He was named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year last season, when Houston beat the Browns in the first round before falling to the Ravens in the divisional round.

His stats haven’t been as good as they were in his fabulous rookie season when he threw just five interceptions. But he has put together another strong season in Year 2 despite missing top receiver Nico Collins for five games early and losing Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell to season-ending injuries in the second half of the season. He also started every game despite being sacked a whopping 52 times.

“He’s taken some crazy shots,” Howard said. “But even if he’s getting sacked and stuff like that, he just never lets that get to him. He just continues to fight through it, and it basically uplifts the entire offense.”

He also finds ways to encourage the team off the field and works to build chemistry through team get-togethers. He often invites the guys over to his house for dinner or to watch games. Recently, he rented out a movie theater for a private screening of “Gladiator II.”

“He’s like, ‘I want the guys to come in and bond together because this thing builds off the field and on the field,’” Howard said. “So, we need to be closer.”

Another thing that makes Stroud an effective leader is that his teammates know that he truly cares about them as people and not just players. That was evident in the loss to the Chiefs when Dell was seriously injured. Stroud openly wept as Dell was tended to on the field and remained distraught after he was carted off.

“It was good for people to see me in that light and knowing that there is still a human factor to me,” he said. "And I think that was good for people to see that we’re just normal people at the end of the day.”

Stroud said some of the leaders who molded him were his father, his coaches in high school and college, and more recently Ryans.

His coach said Stroud has been able to lead the team effectively early in his career because he knows there are others he can lean on if he needs help.

“Understanding that it’s not all on him as a leader, it’s all of our guys just buying in, doing what they have to do,” Ryans said. “But also, C.J. understanding a lot of guys are looking up to him on the team and he takes that role seriously. But it’s not a heavy weight for him because we have other leaders, as well, around him.”

Stroud considers himself stubborn and though some consider that a bad quality, he thinks it’s helped him be a better leader. He's had the trait as long as he can remember.

“That kind of carried into the sport,” he said. “Even as a kid, my mom used to always say how stubborn I was and just having a standard is how I hear it. It’s stubborn (but) I just have a standard on how I like things to be done and how I hold myself is a standard.”

And, to be clear, he doesn’t consider himself a bad leader, but he did enjoy hearing that others on the team consider him a great one.

“I just don’t look at myself in that light of just I’m all-world at that,” he said. “But I try my best to lead by example and it’s cool because I don’t ask guys and to hear what they have to say about that is kind of cool.”

Though he doesn’t consider himself a great leader, Stroud does have strong feelings about what constitutes one. And he’s hoping that he’ll be able to do that for his team Saturday to help the Texans to a victory, which would make him the sixth quarterback in NFL history to start and win a playoff game in both of his first two seasons.

“That would be making everybody around you better,” he said of great leaders. “Kind of like a point guard on the offense, the quarterback on the football team, the pitcher on a baseball team — just making everybody around you better.”

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