Houston can't complete the sweep

Astros' winning streak ends with loss to A's in series finale

Astros' Jose Altuve
Houston's offense was quiet on Thursday against the A's. Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Houston's offense was quiet on Thursday against the A's.

With wins in their last six games, including the first two in this three-game set to secure the series victory, the Astros entered Thursday afternoon's finale looking for a sweep to continue their winning streak. Instead, a cold day at the plate would allow Oakland to salvage a game after two early runs.

Final Score: A's 2, Astros 1

Astros' Record: 54-34, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Frankie Montas (8-7)

Losing Pitcher: Lance McCullers Jr. (6-2)

Rough first inning for McCullers Jr.

Just like in the other two games in this series, Oakland was the one to jump out to the first lead of the day. It came on three straight hits with one out in the top of the first: a double, an RBI ground-rule double, and an RBI single to put the A's up 2-0 before Houston could come up to bat. McCullers Jr. did well after that, limiting his opponent to those two runs, tossing six more scoreless frames to finish with a quality start. His final line: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 0 HR, 107 P.

Astros' winning streak ends

Meanwhile, the Astros were struggling against Frankie Montas. They were held without a run through the first six innings, then got on the board in the bottom of the seventh after a two-out double by Kyle Tucker set up an RBI double by Chas McCormick, cutting the deficit in half at 2-1. That would be their lone offensive highlight of the day, though, as Oakland's bullpen would finish the job to hand Houston the loss and kept the Astros from the series sweep.

Up Next: Houston will now turn their attention to a weekend series with the visiting Yankees, starting with Friday night's opener at 7:10 PM Central. The pitching matchup for the game is expected to be Nestor Cortes (0-0, 1.29 ERA) for New York and Jake Odorizzi (3-3, 3.70 ERA) for the Astros.

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OC Bobby Slowik will not be back with the Texans. Composite Getty Image.

After a historic rookie season for Texans quarterback CJ Stroud, many were expecting the rookie phenom to take another step in his sophomore campaign.

Sadly for Houston fans, that didn't happen. Stroud regressed in his second year, and many believed that OC Bobby Slowik was the main reason for the sophomore slump.

And it looks like the Texans felt the same way. According to sources, Bobby Slowik and the Texans are parting ways.

Offensive line coach Chris Strausser will not be returning either. Strausser's exit isn't nearly as surprising as Slowik's, KPRC2's Aaron Wilson reported earlier in the week that Strausser wasn't expected back.

But many didn't believe DeMeco Ryans would let Slowik go after one down season. However, the amount of hits Stroud was taking behind a leaky o-line that repeatedly was unable to pick up simple stunts certainly justifies the move.

Another year of that kind of abuse to Stroud just wasn't sustainable.

Now the team will have to turn their attention to finding a new coordinator and offensive line coaches. Ohio State's OC Chip Kelly is a name that has been discussed because of his past relationship with Ryans.

Aaron Wilson listed some potential internal candidates in the post below, which includes Jerod Johnson, Bill Lazor, and Ben McDaniels.

The outside candidate (Klint Kubiak) he mentioned would make me the most excited!

Either way, the Texans have their work cut out for them in finding the next leader of the offensive staff.

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