Houston grabs the opener
Astros start series against Indians with a win
Jul 19, 2021, 10:37 pm
Yordan Alvarez was able to break out of a recent slump with a homer Monday against the Indians. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
Yordan Alvarez was able to break out of a recent slump with a homer Monday against the Indians.
After a disappointing series where they lost two of three in Chicago against the White Sox to pick up after the All-Star break, the Astros returned home for six games starting with three against the Indians on Monday night. Albeit a close game throughout, Houston would get the win to start the series with a victory.
Final Score: Astros 4, Indians 3
Astros' Record: 57-38, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Zack Greinke (9-3)
Losing Pitcher: C.J. Mejia (1-5)
Greinke gets a decent start
Zack Greinke, on lengthy rest, had a decent night on the mound, giving up just one hit over the first three innings before Cleveland got on the board with a two-out solo homer in the top of the fourth, at the time tying the game 1-1. He rebounded by erasing a walk in the fifth, but after back-to-back hits to start the sixth, he would get just one out before Houston turned to Cristian Javier. Javier would allow one of Greinke's runs to score before finishing the inning, making Zack's final line 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HER, 84 P.
Alvarez breaks out of his slump
Greinke remained in line for the win, though, thanks to some run support behind him. Houston took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI double by Yuli Gurriel, plating Michael Brantley, who singled ahead of him. After Cleveland tied it in the top of the fourth, Martin Maldanado untied it with a two-out RBI single to put the Astros back in front 2-1.
Yordan goes upper tank. 😳 pic.twitter.com/5B39x8Xyai
— MLB (@MLB) July 20, 2021
After Brantley reached base again in the bottom of fifth, Yordan Alvarez was able to finally get something positive at the plate, breaking his recent slump with a two-run homer to extend Houston's lead to 4-1 at the time. After finishing the sixth for Greinke while giving up a run, Javier remained on the mound in the top of the seventh and erased a leadoff single to keep it a 4-2 game.
Astros hang on to take the opener
Ryne Stanek was next out of Houston's bullpen in the top of the eighth, and unlike his recent success, he allowed a run on two walks and an RBI single to tighten the lead to 4-3 before finishing the frame. Ryan Pressly, the Astros' closer, came on for his first inning of work since July 10th to try and get the save in the 4-3 game in the top of the ninth. Despite allowing the tying run aboard with a leadoff walk, Pressly retired the next three batters to finish off the win for Houston.
Up Next: The middle game of this three-game series will be another 7:10 PM Central start on Tuesday. The expected pitching matchup is Triston McKenzie (1-3, 5.47 ERA) for Cleveland and Luis Garcia (6-5, 3.06 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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