Houston takes Game 1
Correa homers twice as Astros power past A's in ALDS Game 1
Oct 5, 2020, 6:39 pm
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Carlos Correa celebrates a home run in ALDS Game 1
With the two-game sweep of the Twins in the ALWC series, the Astros earned their spot into the divisional series. Their opponent in their ALDS, the AL West champions, the Oakland A's. However, with MLB's "bubble" in effect, Dodger Stadium was their home for the next three to five days. Here is a recap of Game 1:
Final Score: Astros 10, A's 5.
Series: HOU leads 1-0.
Winning Pitcher: Blake Taylor.
Losing Pitcher: J.B. Wendelken.
Early, frantic scoring knocks both starters out early
The scoring started early in Game 1, and at a frantic pace. The A's broke the seal, getting their first baserunner against Lance Mccullers Jr. wit ha one-out walk in the bottom of the second, setting up a two-run home run by Khris Davis to take the early 2-0 lead. Sean Murphy pushed the lead to three with a solo homer to start the bottom of the third, putting the Astros in early trouble.
Houston responded quickly, though, getting a solo shot by Alex Bregman to lead off the fourth, followed by a Kyle Tucker single to set up a two-run bomb by Carlos Correa to tie the game 3-3. Houston started the fifth with back-to-back singles, knocking Chris Bassitt out of the game, but both runners would stay put.
Two big swings and the @astros tie it up. #ALDS pic.twitter.com/S7XL4WfMkR
— MLB (@MLB) October 5, 2020
Oakland continued attacking McCullers Jr, getting a go-ahead solo homer by Matt Olson in the bottom of the fourth. They threatened for more, getting runners on second and third with no outs, but would strand both. McCullers Jr. would come back out for the fifth, but after a leadoff single would prompt a visit by Dusty Baker, who would move on to his bullpen. Blake Taylor would enter and complete the inning, but not before allowing the runner to score on a sac fly, making it a 5-3 Oakland lead. McCullers Jr.'s final line: 4.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 3 HR, 75 P.
Astros put up four in the sixth
Down two runs, the Astros were able to get an extended inning in the top of the sixth with Josh Reddick reaching base on a two-out error. That spurred a rally by Houston, who would get four-straight hits, including an RBI-double by George Springer, a go-ahead two-RBI single by Jose Altuve, then an RBI-single by Michael Brantley, giving Houston a 7-5 lead before the dust settled.
After Taylor finished the fifth, Enoli Paredes was next out of Houston's bullpen and tossed a perfect bottom of the sixth. In the top of the seventh, Carlos Correa hit his second home run of the day, extending the lead to 8-5. Paredes stayed in the game for the bottom of the inning, retiring three more Oakland batters in order.
Houston takes Game 1
Cristian Javier took over on the mound in the bottom of the eighth to try and keep the Astros in front heading to the ninth. He would do his job, erasing a leadoff walk to keep it a three-run game. Houston tacked on insurance in the top of the ninth, getting an RBI-single by Carlos Correa, his fourth run driven in on the day, and a sac fly by Yuli Gurriel, making it a five-run lead at 10-5. Even though it was no longer a save situation, the Astros still brought in Ryan Pressly in the bottom of the ninth, who retired Oakland 1-2-3 to finish off the victory.
Up Next: Game 2 of this ALDS will get underway on Tuesday at 3:37 PM Central, again from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Oakland will be the home team and will send Sean Manaea to the mound, while the Astros as visitors will start Framber Valdez.
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4 important elements that could tip the scales in Texans-Colts matchup
Oct 25, 2024, 2:30 pm
This week, the Houston Texans take on the Colts in a matchup with division supremacy on the line. If the Texans are able to come away with a victory, they will own the tiebreaker over Indy and enjoy a comfortable lead in the division.
However, a loss to the Colts means the Texans will be in a virtual tie with Indy in the AFC South. So what do the Texans need to do to secure a win?
On offense, they'll have to do a much better job of protecting CJ Stroud. In their last game against the Packers, Stroud faced immense pressure on third downs, with 12 of his 14 dropbacks resulting in pressure.
During one series, Stroud was flushed from the pocket and forced to scramble on three straight plays. They have to clean up the protection, or it will be another long day for the offense.
Fortunately for the Texans, this game is at home. So hopefully the communication issues the Texans o-line dealt with on the road last week won't be an issue at NRG.
Rushing attack
Houston can't afford to rely solely on Joe Mixon and the run game to carry the offense. While Mixon has been terrific, contributing significantly in recent weeks, the Texans will need a balanced attack. Which means Stroud must have time to operate in the pocket.
Bulls on parade
The defense last week was another story for the Texans. They played well against Green Bay, limiting them to 24 points. This week, they face a very different type of quarterback. Anthony Richardson is dead last in passer rating and completion percentage, so that's definitely working in their favor.
We know what Richardson can do with his legs, and Indy is expecting running back Jonathan Taylor to return from an ankle injury, so the rushing defense will be tested.
Richardson's accuracy is certainly a weakness, but he does throw a good deep ball that gave the defense problems in Week 1 this season.
What does Vegas think?
The Texans are favored by 5 points and the total is set at 45.5 points.
This is one video you don't want to miss as we share our in-depth breakdown of the game, as well as our predictions for Sunday's contest.
For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube
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Fans of Houston sports and Houston food can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11 at 8th Wonder. Find out more about it here.