Houston's pitching had a rough night
Padres overpower Astros to even up series
Sep 4, 2021, 11:09 pm
Framber Valdez had one rough inning in an otherwise strong start in Saturday's game against the Padres. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
Framber Valdez had one rough inning in an otherwise strong start in Saturday's game against the Padres.
With a late go-ahead inning to take the opener on Friday, the Astros tried to get an impressive series victory with a win on Saturday in San Diego. The Padres denied that, though, by outslugging Houston to take the game.
Final Score: Padres 10, Astros 2
Astros' Record: 79-56, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Joe Musgrove (10-8)
Losing Pitcher: Framber Valdez (9-5)
Astros strike first, Padres respond against Valdez
Tucker does it again 💣#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/IcrJaACYXf
— Houston Astros (@astros) September 5, 2021
After scoring the final runs of Friday night's opener, Houston's offense started the scoring in Saturday's middle game. With two outs in the top of the first, they strung together three straight singles, the third an RBI by Yuli Gurriel to put the Astros in front 1-0. Kyle Tucker doubled the lead in the top of the second, blasting a leadoff homer to make it back-to-back at-bats with homers.
San Diego responded by taking over the offensive momentum in the bottom of the inning, tagging Framber Valdez with four runs on four hits and a balk, putting Houston behind 4-2. Valdez rebounded well from that rough inning, getting through six innings and not allowing any more runs after the second. His final line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 92 P.
Padres keep scoring to even up the series
Cristian Javier took over for Valdez in the bottom of the seventh, a rough inning for him. He allowed a leadoff walk, which turned into a two-run homer by Manny Machado. He followed that with another walk, and with two outs, watched that turn into another two-run blast, extending San Diego's lead to 8-2.
After another scoreless inning by Houston's offense in the top of the eighth, Josh James took over out of the bullpen, making his 2021 debut in return from injury. He would also deal with the damage of a walk, allowing one to set up a two-out two-run homer to extend the Padres' lead to 10-2. That score would go final, with the Astros going down scoreless again in the top of the ninth, evening up the series 1-1 to set up a rubber game.
Up Next: The finale of this series will begin at 3:10 PM Central on Sunday. Luis Garcia (10-6, 3.23 ERA) will be on the mound for Houston, going opposite Chris Paddack (7-6, 4.98 ERA) for San Diego.
Sunday night matchups don't get much exciting than this, as the Houston Texans host the Detroit Lions in prime-time at NRG.
The Lions come into this game on a six-game winning streak looking every bit of the best team in football. Houston on the other hand has lost two of their last three games with a struggling offense unable to protect their quarterback.
CJ Stroud has only one passing touchdown over this span, and is clearly having trouble adjusting to life without Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins.
If Houston is going to come away with an upset victory, they will need big performances from Tank Dell and Joe Mixon. After catching 4 passes against the Colts two weeks ago, Mixon not only failed to catch a single pass against the Jets, but he wasn't even targeted.
Considering the Texans' offensive line issues, choosing not to use Mixon as a pass catcher is hard to fathom. Especially since he and Dell are the team's top 2 playmakers.
What's working in the Texans' favor?
They play this game at home, where they are undefeated this season. A lot of the team's protection issues have popped up on the road, so communication should be easier for the offense on their home turf.
Bulls on Parade
We have good news and bad news about the defense this week. On the positive side, Azeez Al-Shaair and Jimmy Ward have returned to practice. If they're able to contribute on Sunday night, that would give the defense a lift.
And now for the bad news. Will Anderson has yet to practice this week after rolling his ankle in the Jets game. If he is unable to practice on Friday, it's hard to imagine he'll be active against Detroit.
X-factors
The Texans have to show some improvement on the offensive line this week.
Houston must lean on Joe Mixon again, as Nico Collins isn't expected to play.
Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown is one of the best receivers in the league, and he does most of his damage from the slot. If the Texans continue to deploy Jalen Pitre against premier receivers in man coverage, St. Brown is going to light up the scoreboard.
What would a win over the Lions mean to Houston?
The Texans are no longer considered a true championship contender because of their losses to the Packers, Vikings, and Jets. In fact, the Bills are the only team with a winning record that the Texans have beaten.
An upset win over the streaking Lions would change that narrative.
What does Vegas think?
The Lions are currently favored by 3.5 and the total is set at 49 points.
Don't miss the full preview of Texans-Lions in the video above!
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