Houston has won six in a row
Astros secure series win over A's with homers by Altuve and Tucker
Jul 7, 2021, 10:10 pm
Kyle Tucker had the big go-ahead homer in Wednesday's game against the A's. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
Kyle Tucker had the big go-ahead homer in Wednesday's game against the A's.
After mounting an impressive comeback to take the series opener against the A's, the Astros took the field in the middle game of this three-game series to try and lock up the victory with a win on Wednesday night. Thanks to homers by Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker, they would grab the win.
Final Score: Astros 4, A's 3
Astros' Record: 54-33, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Blake Taylor (2-2)
Losing Pitcher: Sean Manaea (6-6)
Garcia gives up an early homer, Altuve backs him up
Like in the opener of the series, Oakland got on the board first in the top of the first inning, this time against Luis Garcia. Unlike their three-run first with multiple hits the night prior, this time, it was limited to a solo home run by Matt Olson to give the A's the early 1-0 lead, which held for a few innings.
Jose Altuve. What else can you say? 💪#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/6gb3u8Pu1m
— Houston Astros (@astros) July 8, 2021
In the bottom of the third, Houston put their first two batters on base to set up a three-run go-ahead home run by Jose Altuve with one out, making it a 3-1 Astros advantage. Garcia rebounded for four scoreless innings after the early homer, leaving in line for the win with another solid start: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 HR, 88 P.
Oakland ties it, Tucker puts Houston back in front
Houston moved into their bullpen starting in the top of the sixth, with Cristian Javier entering to relieve Garcia. It would not be a good inning for him, allowing a solo homer to his first batter before loading the bases with no outs on two singles and a walk. He gave up the tying run on a wild pitch, but thanks to some solid defense and a strikeout was able to limit the damage there, leaving it a 3-3 tie.
Blake Taylor was Houston's next reliever in the top of the seventh, and though he dealt with traffic on the bases as well, he was able to post a scoreless inning by erasing an error and walk. Kyle Tucker untied the game in the bottom of the seventh, launching a solo home run to put the Astros back on top 4-3.
King Tuck puts us ahead. 👑#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/fszqkxuqPa
— Houston Astros (@astros) July 8, 2021
Astros secure the series
Ryne Stanek continued his recent role as setup man in the top of the eighth, tossing a 1-2-3 frame to maintain the one-run lead. That presented Ryan Pressly with another save opportunity in the top of the ninth, and he would notch it by sitting down Oakland in order, giving Houston the series win, and extending their lead in the division.
Up Next: The finale of this three-game set will be an afternoon game starting at 1:10 PM Central. The pitching matchup is slated to be Frankie Montas (7-7, 4.63 ERA) for Oakland and Lance McCullers Jr. (6-1, 2.97 ERA) for Houston.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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