The Houston Texans are getting ready for another big season and several of their players will be playing on the last year of their contracts.
Will the added incentive or chasing a new deal help these players up their performance and impact the Texans in the win column?
ESPN 97.5's Charlie Pallilo and Raheel Ramzanali share their thoughts on their expectations for these players and the Texans this season.
Jose Altuve and Victor Caratini hit three-run home runs in a seven-run sixth inning and the Houston Astros had a season-high 20 hits in an 11-4 victory over the Athletics on Wednesday night.
THE GOAT LAUNCHES ONE!#VoteAltuve ⭐️ https://t.co/W06pfHQMR1 pic.twitter.com/iLGHl47ZQH
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 19, 2025
Framber Valdez (8-4) limited the A's to two runs and five hits in six innings to help the Astros win for the seventh time in eight games.
Altuve, Caratini, Jeremy Peña, Cam Smith, and Jake Meyers had three hits apiece, and Yanier Diaz and Mauricio Dubón each added two.
Cam The Man delivers!
6-1 Astros!#VoteCam ⭐️ https://t.co/W06pfHQMR1 pic.twitter.com/kpfgDCK3x0
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 19, 2025
Nick Kurtz hit a double and scored on a single by Austin Wynns to give the Athletics a 1-0 lead in the second. The 22-year-old rookie had a solo homer in the ninth.
Dubón hit a leadoff homer in the third inning and Peña's RBI single off starter Luis Severino (2-7) in the fourth made it 2-1.
The Athletics had a four-game win streak snapped Tuesday with a 13-3 loss to Houston.
Key moment
Tyler Ferguson replaced Severino to start the sixth and gave up a single to Meyers before Dubón grounded into a 4-6-3 double play but Peña followed with a single, Isaac Paredes followed with a walk and Altuve's three-run shot sparked Houston's seven-run sixth that made it 9-1.
Key stat
The Athletics gave up three home runs and have yielded a major league-leading 113 this season, sixth most before the All-Star break in franchise history. The A's are on pace to allow 247 homers this season and shatter the franchise record of 220 set by the 1964 Kansas City A’s.
Up next
Houston's Colton Gordon (2-1, 4.70 ERA) was scheduled to pitch Thursday against Jacob Lopez (1-4, 4.80) to wrap up the four-game series.