Astros crushed by Rangers as Houston comes up short of the sweep

The Astros had a forgettable day in Arlington on Sunday after getting handed a lopsided loss by the Rangers. Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The Astros had a forgettable day in Arlington on Sunday after getting handed a lopsided loss by the Rangers.

Having secured the series victory already, the Astros tried to extend their winning streak to five games on Sunday against the Rangers if they could finish the three-game sweep. Instead, a slow start by their offense, along with a terrible day on the mound, allowed the Rangers to salvage a game and snap Houston's winning streak.

Final Score: Rangers 13, Astros 2

Astros' Record: 77-53, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Taylor Hearn (4-4)

Losing Pitcher: Zack Greinke (11-5)

Greinke doesn't have it

Zack Greinke would have a start to forget, which became apparent in the bottom of the first inning. The Rangers jumped out a 3-0 lead that frame, tagging him with three straight singles to start the inning, the third bringing in a run, followed by a sac fly and RBI double before Greinke could get out of it.

He rebounded with a scoreless second but allowed another run in the third, watching a leadoff double score on a sac fly later in the frame, making it 4-0. He dealt with another lengthy inning in the bottom of the fourth, allowing a leadoff double then a one-out RBI double to make it 5-0. He finished the fourth, then tried to continue in the fifth, but a leadoff solo homer would end his day: 4.0 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 76 P.

Rangers keep pouring it on

García grand slam.

The @Rangers have put up 12 runs, and it's only the 5th inning. pic.twitter.com/TxVBhlCzL7
— MLB (@MLB) August 29, 2021

The Astros, who went without a baserunner in the first four innings, tried to get back into it in the top of the fifth, putting together a two-run inning on a solo homer by Yordan Alvarez and RBI double by Jake Meyers. The Rangers would quickly push things back out of reach, though, as after Greinke exited with no outs in the bottom of the inning, Bryan Abreu would come in and have a disastrous appearance.

He struggled mightily, allowing two RBI singles and leaving the bases loaded for Adolis Garcia, who made it a ten-run lead with a grand slam. Blake Taylor would enter to finish the frame, but not before allowing Abreu's seventh earned run to make it 13-2. Taylor remained on the mound in the bottom of the sixth, working around an error for a scoreless inning.

Astros drop lopsided finale

Phil Maton was Houston's next reliever, coming in for the bottom of the seventh, which he would complete without allowing any more damage. The final pitcher on the afternoon was Brooks Raley, who tossed Houston's only 1-2-3 inning of the day. The Astros would not get the miraculous rally in the top of the ninth, instead going down scoreless as the Rangers finished the win to avoid the sweep.

Up Next: The Astros will travel to Seattle on Sunday evening before picking up a three-game set with the Mariners on Monday at 9:10 PM Central. In the opener, the expected pitching matchup is Luis Garcia (10-6, 3.21 ERA) for Houston and Chris Flexen (11-5, 3.54 ERA) for Seattle.

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The Longhorns host Georgia on Saturday night. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

By any measure, from the official statistics to the informal eye test, top-ranked Texas' defense has been dominant.

The Longhorns rank No. 1 in total defense and scoring defense. They are top 10 in first downs allowed, tackles for loss and passing yards. Much of that is built against opponents starting former walk-on quarterbacks ( Michigan ) and freshmen ( Mississippi State and Oklahoma.)

But the level of quarterback play Texas will face, in both talent and experience, is about to get much better over the second half of the season.

Texas hosts No. 5 Georgia on Saturday night in the first matchup of top five teams in Austin since 2006, before playing the next week at Vanderbilt. Bulldogs senior Carson Beck was a preseason first team Associated Press All-America pick, and standout Vanderbilt transfer Diego Pavia has carried the Commodores to a surprising 4-2 start, including a historic win over then-No. 1 Alabama.

Quite simply, Texas hasn't defended this caliber of quarterback all season.

Beck is a player on the doorstep of the NFL, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.

“There's nothing in the throw game (Beck) can't do,” Sarkisian said. “He's played enough football now, too. It's kind of hard to confuse guys when they've played that much football.”

Texas (6-0, 2-0 SEC) has allowed just one team to pass for more than 200 yards this season. Beck passed for 459 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions last week in a 41-31 win over Mississippi State. His 36 completions set a Georgia record.

Even when Beck struggled early in Georgia's loss to Alabama, he rallied the Bulldogs to a late fourth-quarter lead. He finished with 439 yards in the loss where Georgia's rally ended with an Alabama interception in the end zone in the final minute.

Sarkisian recruited Beck when the Texas coach was an assistant at Alabama. Beck had initially committed to the Crimson Tide before switching to Georgia.

Beck is 18-2 in his career as a starter, and 6-2 against top 20 opponents.

The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) will need another exceptional game from him Saturday. A second SEC loss could threaten any chance of playing for the SEC championship, and raise the alarms on the College Football Playoff as well.

Texas has all but overwhelmed opposing quarterbacks so far.

In last week's 34-3 thrashing of rival Oklahoma, the Longhorns sacked Sooners freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. five times, and held him to 27 yards on 20 carries. Texas allowed just 225 total yards.

Hawkins was the first Sooners freshman to start at quarterback against the Longhorns in the 120-year history of the rivalry and was quickly swallowed up by a relentless pass rush.

By the numbers, the Longhorns program is on pace for a historic season. Sarkisian has said his favorite stat is points allowed, which is not many.

Texas has surrendered only three touchdowns all season. Opponents have snatched four turnovers inside Texas territory, but none have produced points.

That ability to snuff momentum can drain an opponent, Sarkisian said.

“We're so composed as a defense,” Texas safety Michael Taaffe said. “We're so confident, that no matter what happens, everything is going to be alright.”

The only time Texas has trailed this season was a 3-0 early deficit against Oklahoma. Several Longhorns starters were still on the field when the Sooners' final drive stalled at the Texas 6-yard-line as the game ended.

The stars emerging for the Longhorns have been second-year linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and freshman edge rusher Colin Simmons.

Hill leads the team in total tackles (42), sacks (4 1/2) and tackles for loss (8 1/2). His sideline-to-sideline speed and move this season from the edge to the middle of the Texas defense has drawn comparisons to former Longhorns All-American Derrick Johnson 20 years ago.

Simmons has four sacks and 7 1/2 tackles for losses, second on the team in both categories.

“Size, speed,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said in summing up the Texas defense.

“They’re the complete package on defense," Smart said. "The consistency you watch them play with, it reminds me of some of our best teams here.”By any measure, from the official statistics to the informal eye test, top-ranked Texas' defense has been dominant.