Houston's four-game streak is snapped
Astros held to one run as Angels salvage a game in series finale
Aug 15, 2021, 7:50 pm
Lance McCullers Jr. received his first road loss of the season on Sunday in the finale against the Angels. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Lance McCullers Jr. received his first road loss of the season on Sunday in the finale against the Angels.
Winners of their last four games, and having already secured the victory in this three-game series by winning the first two matchups, the Astros looked to keep their momentum going into Sunday's finale. Instead, the Angels grabbed momentum to hold Houston's offense at bay to salvage a win in the series.
Final Score: Angels 3, Astros 1
Astros' Record: 70-47, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Reid Detmers (1-2)
Losing Pitcher: Lance McCullers Jr. (9-4)
McCullers Jr. gets his first road loss of 2021
Lance McCullers Jr. dealt with some high-stress situations early in his start. He worked around a single in the first, but in the bottom of the second would load the bases on a single, walk, and hit batter. He got out of it in a big way, striking out MVP hopeful Shohei Ohtani to end the inning and get out of the jam.
Uncle Mike left no doubt.#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/v0B8N03gVg
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 15, 2021
After Michael Brantley gave him a lead with a solo homer in the top of the inning to go ahead 1-0, McCullers Jr. rebounded with a 1-2-3 third inning, then did the same in the fourth. LA would get on the board against him in the fifth, getting back-to-back one-out singles to get a runner to third to set up an RBI groundout to tie the game. They pressured him again in the bottom of the sixth, getting a leadoff double and a one-out bunt single to set up another RBI groundout, this one to take a 2-1 lead and end McCullers Jr.'s day and send him on the way to his first road loss of the year. His final line: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 108 P.
Houston drops the finale
After Ryne Stanek came in to get the final out of the sixth, Cristian Javier took over out of the bullpen in the 2-1 game in the bottom of the seventh. He got through that frame without trouble, but after returning in the bottom of the eighth, he would watch a one-out homer fly out to extend the Angels' lead to 3-1 before he finished the inning. That score would go final as Houston's offense would get held to just the lone run off of the bat of Brantley back in the third inning. The loss snapped Houston's four-game streak and prevented them from getting the series sweep as they head out to their next destination.
Up Next: With this series in the books, Houston will travel to Kansas City for the next part of this road trip. They'll kick off a four-game set with the Royals on Monday at 7:10 PM Central, with an anticipated pitching matchup of Jake Odorizzi (5-6, 4.59 ERA) for Houston and Carlos Hernandez (3-1, 4.11 ERA) for Kansas City.
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Houston Texans owner Cal McNair said Monday that receiver Tank Dell will make a “full recovery” after he was wounded in a shootout at a Florida restaurant last month.
McNair did not provide details on the nature of Dell's injury, but the team called it a “minor wound” the day after the April 27th shooting, which also injured nine others.
Speaking before the team’s annual charity golf classic, McNair called the situation “frightening” before providing an update on Dell.
“It looks like Tank will make a full recovery,” he said. “We saw him in the office the other day and he looked good, in good spirits. But he’ll have to rehab and get back to where he was.”
Coach DeMeco Ryans was cagey when asked about Dell, refusing to directly answer the question when asked if he expected him to be ready for Week 1.
“Tank should be fine,” he said.
Ryans said that he’s spoken to Dell several times since the shooting and that they had a "good conversation."
Later when pressed about whether he would miss practice time Ryans again deflected.
“I’ve answered all that about Tank — he’ll be all right,” Ryans said.
Dell was drafted in the third round in 2023 after a standout career at the University of Houston. He had 709 yards receiving and set a franchise rookie record with seven touchdown receptions last season before breaking his left fibula in December.
Ryans said in April that Dell had recovered from that injury and would be ready to practice when the team began workouts before he was injured in the shooting.