Houston has won six straight

Astros get walk-off win against Rockies in extras to keep winning streak going

Chris Campise
Aug 18, 2020, 5:16 pm
Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

With Yordan Alvarez landing on the IL earlier in the day, Michael Brantley already on it, George Springer a late scratch with his wrist discomfort, and a scheduled off-day for Carlos Correa, the Astros had a much different lineup than usual on Tuesday. Still, they had Zack Greinke on the mound trying to lift Houston to their sixth straight win and back-to-back against the Rockies. Here is a recap of the second game of the four this week against Colorado:

Final Score (11 innings): Astros 2, Rockies 1.

Record: 13-10, second in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Andre Scrubb (1-0, 0.00 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Jairo Diaz (0-1, 3.00 ERA).

Both starters match each other with eight shutout innings

Much like the series' opening game, Tuesday's game would unfold as a pitcher's duel. While Houston's injury-laden lineup struggled to figure out Antonio Senzatela, Zack Grienke was dealing on the mound himself.

Both pitchers would complete eight scoreless innings while holding the opposite team to three hits over that span. Greinke would reach nearly 100 pitches over those eight innings, ending his day with no run support but with a gem on the mound. His final line: 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 0 HR.

No scoring through nine, Astros walk it off in extras

Still gridlocked scoreless, Enoli Paredes entered to relieve Zack Greinke in the top of the ninth. He would record yet another electric inning, retiring the Rockies in order. That set up the Astros with a chance to get their second walk-off in the last three days. They would not do it in the ninth, though, as they also would go down 1-2-3 to move the game to extra innings.

In their sixth extra-inning game this season, the Astros turned to Ryan Pressly to erase the free runner on second in the top of the tenth. He would induce a sac fly to start the inning, moving the runner to third, who would score on a two-out RBI-single to put the first run on the board for the day and put Colorado up 1-0.

Pressly would get the third out, turning it over to Houston, who had Bregman on second base to start the bottom of the tenth. Yuli Gurriel moved him to third with a leadoff single, and then Kyle Tucker brought him in to tie the game 1-1 with a sac fly, leaving Gurriel at first as the winning run. He would get left stranded there, extending the game another inning.

Andre Scrubb took over on the mound for Houston in the top of the eleventh inning, and despite allowing a leadoff walk and sacrifice bunt was able to strand runners on second and third with two big back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. With Abraham Toro on second, Colorado issued an intentional walk to Carlos Correa, who came in to pinch-hit for Martin Maldonado to lead off the bottom of the inning. A bunt moved Toro to third, then Myles Straw drove him in with a walk-off single to extend Houston's winning streak to six by sweeping the home portion of the four-game series.

Up Next: With the two games in Houston complete, this four-game series shifts to Denver for the next two. Game three will be at 7:40 PM on Wednesday, and the expected pitching matchup is Ryan Castellani (0-0, 1.04 ERA) for the Rockies and Framber Valdez (1-2, 1.90 ERA) for the Astros.

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A WEEKLY REVIEW OF O'BRIEN'S COACHING

Not my job: Texans no match for the Ravens

Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.

The Texans fell to the Ravens 33-16 in a game they had a shot at winning. Most of you reading this will probably think I'm crazy for saying that. I assure you, I meant what I said. One of the reasons they didn't was because Bill O'Brien made a few questionable decisions that cost this team.

The first was the 4th & 1 decision. Deciding to go for it was bad enough. They were down 3-0 near the end of the first quarter with the ball on their own 34-yard line. This is not a situation that calls for a gamble or statement play. The play call itself was okay I guess: a play action bootleg with two short options. It was read and played perfectly by the Ravens defense. Deshaun Watson had nowhere to go with the ball and had to throw it at Darren Fells' back before getting sacked. That led to a quick Ravens touchdown and an early 10-0 deficit. I seriously think he has PTSD after that playoff loss to the Chiefs when it comes to fourth down calls. Bumbling Bill strikes again!

When they got the ball back, they scored a touchdown thanks to more play action passes and pre-snap motion. It was as if Bumbling Bill realized his offensive line was outmatched by the front seven they're opposing. Sure Watson is mobile and looks like a magician escaping sacks, but misdirection helps throw the defense off and keeps Watson from breaking into 177,000,000 pieces. Oh, and the quick reads were a good idea as well. Too bad Bumbling Bill went away from that and opted for longer developing routes. Or will he blame it on Timid Tim Kelly? Or was Waiting Watson holding onto the ball too long? I blame all three.

Also, can we stop starting drives with the predictable run, run, pass combo please? First down should be play action rollout with Watson having the ability to choose to run if it's there. More run/pass/option plays need to be called as well. Incorporate more things that we saw when Watson was on his way to winning rookie of the year before his knee was sacrificed for the Astros.

Credit where it's due: the end of the first half to get a field goal with a minute and change left was good to see. Typically, these situations tend to make Bumbling Bill come out. I liked the quick slant to Cobb with no timeouts. They were able to spike the ball and get the field goal up.

The game was still within reach at 23-13 in the beginning of the fourth quarter. On a 4th & 1, they gave up a 30 yard touchdown run on a direct snap to Mark Ingram. I saw gaps on both sides of the defensive line pre-snap. Sure enough, Ingram got a lead block from the Ravens human plough of a fullback and that effectively put the nail in the coffin at 30-13. I know the tendency is to quarterback sneak or run up the middle, but don't leave gaps along the defensive line trying to stack the middle. First time defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver will take the L on this one.

Overall, I'll give O'Brien and his coaching staff a C- this game. Mistakes were made that could've cost them a legit shot at winning, but the Keke Coutee fumble return for a touchdown wasn't their fault. The play calling menu was brought to us this week by Craft Pita via the "What's Eric Eating" podcast. Tune in next week for another "Not my job!"

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