Houston wins fourth in a row
Meyers displays his power as Astros secure series over Angels
Aug 14, 2021, 11:46 pm
Jake Meyers had his first and second homers of his career on Saturday, including a grand slam. Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Jake Meyers had the first and second homers of his career on Saturday, including a grand slam.
Riding a three-game winning streak into Saturday's middle game with the Angels, the Astros sought to continue their momentum to lock up another series win. Jake Meyer's would provide a breakout game at the plate, helping them get there.
Final Score: Astros 8, Angels 2
Astros' Record: 70-46, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Luis Garcia (9-6)
Losing Pitcher: Jaime Barria (2-1)
Garcia gives up two runs early but leaves in line for the win
Shohei Ohtani, who had the only RBI for the Angels in Friday's opener, wasted no time getting one in this game. After Houston's scoreless top of the first inning, Ohtani gave LA a 1-0 advantage in the bottom half by blasting a leadoff shot against Luis Garcia, his 39th of the season, extending his lead over the league. Garcia would give up another run two batters later, giving up three straight hits to start the game in a 2-0 hole.
He rebounded well, despite dealing with traffic throughout the night. Thanks to his offense backing him up, he would leave in position for the win by making it through five frames while allowing just those two runs in the first inning. His final line: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 87 P.
Meyers shows off his power as Houston blows it open
Jake Meyers' second career HR is a grand slam! pic.twitter.com/Cjc8OcZroT
— MLB (@MLB) August 15, 2021
The reason he left in that position was due to a big third inning by Houston's offense. It started with Jake Meyer's first career homer, a one-out solo homer. The following two batters reached and set up a sac fly by Carlos Correa and a go-ahead RBI-double by Yordan Alvarez, making it a three-run inning to put the Astros in front 3-2.
They kept putting pressure on LA's arms, and in the top of the fifth, after Michael Brantley reached base by being hit by a pitch, Alvarez would get his second RBI of the night on another double to extend the lead to 4-2. Houston blew it open in the next inning, putting the first three batters on base with two walks and a single, bringing Meyers back to the plate, who launched his second homer, this one a grand slam to double his team's lead to 8-2.
Astros secure the series
After Garcia, Brooks Raley was first out of Houston's bullpen in the bottom of the sixth, making his first appearance since August 4th. He looked sharp, sitting down the three batters he faced for a 1-2-3 inning. Blake Taylor had the bottom of the seventh, working around a leadoff single to maintain the six-run lead.
Phil Maton was the fourth pitcher of the night, and he erased a walk and a single to keep the score where it was going to the ninth. Yimi Garcia took over in the bottom of the ninth and wrapped up the win for Houston, their fourth in a row, including the first two of this three-game set to secure the series.
Up Next: The finale of this three-game set will get underway at 3:07 PM Central on Sunday. Lance McCullers Jr. (9-3, 3.22 ERA) will be on the mound for the Astros, going opposite Reid Detmers (0-2, 10.61 ERA), making his third career start for the Angels.
Sunday night matchups don't get much exciting than this, as the Houston Texans host the Detroit Lions in prime-time at NRG.
The Lions come into this game on a six-game winning streak looking every bit of the best team in football. Houston on the other hand has lost two of their last three games with a struggling offense unable to protect their quarterback.
CJ Stroud has only one passing touchdown over this span, and is clearly having trouble adjusting to life without Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins.
If Houston is going to come away with an upset victory, they will need big performances from Tank Dell and Joe Mixon. After catching 4 passes against the Colts two weeks ago, Mixon not only failed to catch a single pass against the Jets, but he wasn't even targeted.
Considering the Texans' offensive line issues, choosing not to use Mixon as a pass catcher is hard to fathom. Especially since he and Dell are the team's top 2 playmakers.
What's working in the Texans' favor?
They play this game at home, where they are undefeated this season. A lot of the team's protection issues have popped up on the road, so communication should be easier for the offense on their home turf.
Bulls on Parade
We have good news and bad news about the defense this week. On the positive side, Azeez Al-Shaair and Jimmy Ward have returned to practice. If they're able to contribute on Sunday night, that would give the defense a lift.
And now for the bad news. Will Anderson has yet to practice this week after rolling his ankle in the Jets game. If he is unable to practice on Friday, it's hard to imagine he'll be active against Detroit.
X-factors
The Texans have to show some improvement on the offensive line this week.
Houston must lean on Joe Mixon again, as Nico Collins isn't expected to play.
Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown is one of the best receivers in the league, and he does most of his damage from the slot. If the Texans continue to deploy Jalen Pitre against premier receivers in man coverage, St. Brown is going to light up the scoreboard.
What would a win over the Lions mean to Houston?
The Texans are no longer considered a true championship contender because of their losses to the Packers, Vikings, and Jets. In fact, the Bills are the only team with a winning record that the Texans have beaten.
An upset win over the streaking Lions would change that narrative.
What does Vegas think?
The Lions are currently favored by 3.5 and the total is set at 49 points.
Don't miss the full preview of Texans-Lions in the video above!
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