Houston is up to eleven in a row

Astros extend winning streak again with opener win over Tigers

Houston's offense cannot be held down in June, putting together another run-heavy night against Detroit on Thursday. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.

Entering with a ten-game win streak, including three-game domination of the Orioles, the Astros tried to continue their hot streak against the Tigers in the opener of a four-game series. They would have the same success against Detroit, putting up a lopsided offensive win to extend their winning streak another game and stay on top of the division.

Final Score: Astros 12, Tigers 3

Astros' Record: 47-28, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Luis Garcia (6-4)

Losing Pitcher: Jose Urena (2-8)

The runs keep coming for Houston

Houston had no trouble continuing to score runs at a torrid pace, getting two runs each in the second, third, and fourth. Martin Maldonado kicked things off with a two-RBI single in the top of the second; then, in the third, the Astros had runners on first and third for Yordan Alvarez, who notched an RBI groundout. They loaded the bases later that frame, resulting in a hit by pitch to Abraham Toro to make it 4-0.

After Detroit managed a run against Luis Garcia in the bottom of the third to make it 4-1, Houston pushed the lead back to five runs with RBI hits by Yuli Gurriel and Carlos Correa. Correa drove in another two in the top of the fifth, getting a two-RBI single with two outs to make it 8-1.

Garcia holds Detroit to two runs over six

The two-out RBI double Garcia allowed in the bottom of the third was his only run allowed through the first five innings. A leadoff double in the bottom of the sixth would later come in for Detroit's second run on a two-out RBI double before Garcia would get the last out to end his night: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 96 P.

Astros extend winning streak to eleven

Blake Taylor was first out of Houston's bullpen in the bottom of the seventh and erased a leadoff single for a scoreless inning. Ryne Stanek was next, and he held the six-run lead with a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth. The Astros didn't let up in the top of the ninth, loading the bases and bringing Yordan Alvarez to the plate for his twelfth homer of the season, a grand slam to extend the lead to double digits at 12-2. Ralph Garza Jr. wrapped it up in the bottom of the ninth, despite allowing a run, finishing off Houston's eleventh-straight win and keeping them in front of the A's on top of the AL West.

Up Next: Game two of this four-game set will be another 6:10 PM Central start on Friday. Framber Valdez (4-0, 1.67 ERA) will try to stay perfect on the year for Houston, while Wily Peralta (0-1, 7.11 ERA) will try to pick up his first win in his second start for Detroit.

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The Houston Texans approach to the offseason has caused quite a bit of controversy among Texans fans and media. Some really like what the team is doing in free agency, while others are underwhelmed.

But the argument that keeps getting thrown around is whether the Texans are ready to win this season, or if the team will have to suffer through another disappointing season. Most would agree the Texans roster has a number of holes, but how will that roster look after the NFL Draft and hopefully a new franchise QB is taking snaps for the team?

The great thing about the NFL is how fast teams can turn things around and start winning. When we looked at the teams coming off a bad season and drafting around the Texans in 2021, many of them showed a huge improvement the following season.

The Lions were 3-13-1 in 2021, last year? 9-8. The Jaguars went 3-14 in 2021. Last year they won the AFC South and notched a playoff win over the Chargers. Look at the New York Giants, they went 4-13 in 2021. They improved to 9-7-1 and also won a playoff game just one year later. And don't get us started on the Jets. They went 4-13 in 2021, improved to 7-10 with bad QB play, and now Aaron Rodgers wants to play there.

The point being, most of these teams hired new coaches in the last couple of years, added some talent through the draft and free agency and started winning. Why are Texans fans and media so convinced they're in for another season of losing? Why can't the Texans be the team that turns things around and competes for a division title? Especially if they land a franchise QB as expected.

The AFC South isn't a very tough division. In fact, the Texans beat the Jags, Colts, and Titans just this year. Shouldn't we expect them to take a step forward with better players and DeMeco Ryans leading the way?

Be sure to check out the video above as we break it all down!

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