Houston is still seeking home-field for the ALDS
Astros drop opener of final regular-season series to Oakland
Oct 1, 2021, 11:20 pm
Houston is still seeking home-field for the ALDS
With the division in hand, the Astros had another magic number to go after in the final regular-season series, and that was one win or a White Sox loss to ensure they'd have home-field advantage in the ALDS. Neither would come on Friday night, as Oakland would put together big innings to take the opener of the three-game series.
Final Score: A's 8, Astros 6
Astros' Record: 93-67, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Sean Manaea (11-10)
Losing Pitcher: Framber Valdez (11-6)
After a 1-2-3 first by Framber Valdez, Houston got on the board first in the bottom of the inning. A leadoff triple by Jose Siri set up an RBI single by Aledmys Diaz, making a 1-0 game. The one-run lead held until the top of the third, when a leadoff walk by Tony Kemp later turned into an RBI single, making it 1-1. Things got worse from there for Valdez, who allowed a go-ahead leadoff homer in the top of the fourth, then a two-run shot in the top of the sixth to end his night. His final regular-season line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 2 HR, 82 P.
Phil Maton was Houston's first reliever, retiring the three batters he faced after coming in for Valdez to finish the sixth. The Astros got one run back in the bottom of the inning, with a two-out walk setting up an RBI double by Jake Meyers to make it a two-run game.
Cristian Javier was next out of the bullpen, and he worked around a single for a scoreless seventh. Oakland figured him out in the eighth, though, putting up a four-run inning to push the lead back to six runs on a couple of errors and an RBI single and RBI ground-rule double.
Jake Meyers notched his second RBI of the night in the bottom of the eighth, driving in Carlos Correa, who led the frame off with a single, making it 8-3. Jason Castros brought the Astros back to within two runs in the next at-bat, getting a three-run homer to cut the lead to 8-6. Yimi Garcia held the score there with a scoreless top of the ninth, sitting down Oakland in order, including two strikeouts.
Houston started a rally attempt in the bottom of the ninth, getting two on base to bring the winning run to the plate, but would come away empty as Oakland would take the opener. The White Sox winning earlier in the evening leaves the Astros magic number at 1 to clinch home-field in the ALDS.
Up Next: The middle game of this series will get started at 6:10 PM Central on Saturday. Paul Blackburn (1-3, 4.71 ERA) will be on the mound for Oakland, while Houston will hand the ball to Jake Odorizzi (6-7, 4.14 ERA).
The Houston Texans have all the media outlets talking about them this offseason, after making some bold moves that ownership hopes will bring the city its first Super Bowl.
Cal and Hannah McNair have made it clear that they “want to win now” and their moves in free agency certainly back that up. Full transparency, Cowherd has some concerns about the Texans ability to repeat last year's success with a first-place schedule in 2024 that should challenge CJ Stroud and the Texans.
But he's starting to rethink his predictions for Houston (missing the playoffs), because of the team's aggressive approach this offseason.
“The Houston Texans now have a very sharp GM, a great coach, a great coordinator, and a star quarterback,” said Cowherd.
Later, he makes the point that the Patriots didn't draft well when Texans GM Nick Caserio worked under Bill Belichick in New England. Yet, in Houston, Caserio has done a good job in the draft. Which leads Colin to believe Belichick is the reason the Patriots had so many draft misses over the last several years.
This isn't about luck
Cowherd knows the Texans didn't rebuild this quickly because of luck, despite some comments from his co-host to the contrary.
“Houston has turned around a shipwreck in a year and a half based on smart people making really smart moves,” Cowherd stated.
And then Colin said something very fascinating. A couple of years ago, Cowherd interviewed Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton, a player many had being mocked to the Texans before the draft.
After the interview, the Texans reached out to Cowherd just to get his thoughts on Hamilton. Trying to get any information on what he was like as a person, how he behaved when the cameras were off, that type of thing.
The Texans reached out wanting to know his “interpretation” of the player after spending thirty-five minutes with him. And Colin gladly answered their questions.
After some lean years for Texans fans, it's great to see the front office is going the extra mile to acquire any information they can about the players on their draft board. This is what smart organizations do.
In the end, Houston traded back and did not draft Hamilton. Hamilton has since been drafted by the Ravens and made All-Pro in 2024. But the point remains, the Texans are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to making informed decisions in the draft.
You can watch the video above for the full conversation. The Hamilton topic starts at the 3:10 mark in the video.