Astros bully the Rangers again
Jose Siri, Astros unload on Rangers in 15-1 win in Arlington
Sep 13, 2021, 11:03 pm
Jose Siri's tremendous 5 RBI night at the plate was part of a barrage of runs by the Astros against the Rangers Monday night. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images
Jose Siri's tremendous 5 RBI night at the plate was part of a barrage of runs by the Astros against the Rangers Monday night.
After taking two of three to get a series win over the Angels at home on Sunday, the Astros picked up a four-game series with the Rangers in Arlington to finish the season series on Monday. Houston ran away with it, punishing Texas' pitching along the way to a lopsided win.
Final Score: Astros 15, Rangers 1
Astros' Record: 84-59, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Cristian Javier (4-1)
Losing Pitcher: Spencer Howard (0-4)
Houston blows it open early
The Astros poured it on against the Rangers early in this opener, getting multi-run innings in the first two innings. They went up 3-0 before Texas could get to the plate in the top of the first, putting two on base to set up an RBI ground-rule double by Yuli Gurriel, then later a two-RBI double by Carlos Correa. They extended that to a 7-0 advantage in the top of the second, with a two-RBI double by Jose Altuve and a two-run 401-foot homer by Yordan Alvarez, blowing it open.
Odorizzi exits with injury
Meanwhile, the Astros took a hit on the other side of the ball in the bottom of the second. After a scoreless first, Odorizzi ran to first to make a play for the first out of the second but would injure himself on the play, ultimately coming out as Cristian Javier would quickly enter from the bullpen. Javier did well to eat up some innings, despite allowing a run in the bottom of the third, making it through the fourth to hand it to Houston's next reliever.
HEY SIRI, SHOW ME A ROCKET. 🚀#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/OD6AyJnhMg
— Houston Astros (@astros) September 14, 2021
Meanwhile, Houston kept scoring, taking advantage of a hit batter in the top of the third with a two-run homer by Jose Siri, his first in the majors to make it 9-0 before the Rangers got their run in the bottom half. After Phil Maton came in and tossed a scoreless bottom of the fifth, the Astros tacked on four more runs in the top of the sixth, two on a homer by Alex Bregman, then two more RBI for Siri, who provided a two-out single to give him four RBI on the night and extending the lead to 13-1.
Astros win big in Arlington
Make it 30 for Yordan! pic.twitter.com/D2Io8PXJnz
— MLB (@MLB) September 14, 2021
Maton stayed on the mound and provided a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth, then in the top of the seventh, Yordan Alvarez would launch his 30th homer of the year, this one a 422-foot opposite-field bomb to make it 14-1. Blake Taylor was Houston's next reliever, retiring the Rangers in order in the bottom of the seventh.
Jose Siri struck again in the top of the eighth, getting his fourth hit, second homer, and fifth RBI of the night with a solo shot to extend the lead to fourteen runs. Brooks Raley took over out of the bullpen in the bottom of the inning, erasing a leadoff single to send the game to the final inning. In the bottom of the ninth, Yimi Garcia would end the lengthy, lopsided game as Houston would continue to reduce their magic number.
Up Next: The second of this four-game series will be another 7:05 PM Central start on Tuesday. Zack Greinke (11-5, 3.66 ERA) is slated to return from the COVID IL and make his first start since August 29th for the Astros, while Jordan Lyles (8-11, 5.43 ERA) will be on the mound for the Rangers.
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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.
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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.
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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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