Astros fall to 4-4 on the year

Greinke much improved, Astros fall to Angels in extra innings

Zack Greinke Houston Astros
Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Zack Greinke Houston Astros

After finishing the opening game of this three-game series at approximately 12:30 AM Central on Friday night / Saturday morning, the Astros and Angels were back in action on Saturday evening, with Houston looking to lock up the series win and extend their division lead. Here is a recap of the middle game:

Final Score (10 Innings): Angels 5, Astros 4.

Record: 4-4, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Ryan Buchter (2-0, 0.00 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Nivaldo Rodriguez (0-1, 0.00 ERA).

Greinke looks much improved, but falters in sixth inning

After combining for 15 runs the night prior, both teams had slow starts on Saturday evening. For the Angels, that came at the hand of Zack Greinke, who put together a vastly more impressive start than his 2020 debut where he went just 3.1 innings and allowed three runs.

Greinke did not allow a baserunner until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Angels would get their first hit with one out. That would break the seal on their offense, as Los Angeles would end up tagging Greinke with two runs on a sac-fly and RBI-single, ending his night two outs into the inning as Blake Taylor would get the final out. Greinke's final line: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K.

Angels stay in command through eight

Houston was able to create some chances in the early parts of the game, but couldn't convert them. They had runners on in five of the first six innings, but would not be able to get on the board over that span. Josh Reddick led off the top of the seventh with a double, moved to third on a groundout, then scored to cut the lead in half on a two-out RBI-single by George Springer.

Taylor remained in the game for Houston on the mound in the bottom of the seventh, and he continued his impressive start to his rookie campaign by working around a two-out single to keep it a one-run game. Ryan Pressly would make his 2020 debut out of the bullpen in the bottom of the eighth to try and give Houston's offense a chance in the top of the ninth. He was greeted with a lead-off triple, which would eventually turn into a run on a two-out RBI-single to push Los Angeles back in front by two at 3-1. That would also mark the end of Pressly's night as Brandon Bailey would come in to get the final out of the frame.

Teams trade blows to go to extras, Angels come out ahead in tenth

In the top of the ninth, Josh Reddick was able to get Houston back within one run with a one-out solo home run. After Garrett Stubbs kept Houston alive with a two-out single, George Springer would give the Astros their first lead of the day with a two-run home run, making it a 4-3 Astros advantage. Now in a save situation, Roberto Osuna came in for the bottom of the ninth. He would get one out, then allow a runner before being taken out mid-at-bat with an injury.

Cy Sneed would enter quickly, and after a wild pitch to move the runner to second allowed an RBI-double to former-Astro Jason Castro to tie the game 4-4. Sneed would hold the Angels there, sending the game to extra innings. Alex Bregman would start the top of the tenth on second base per the 2020 rules and would be joined by Kyle Tucker, who received an intentional walk to start the inning with two on base and no outs.

Though the Astros would load the bases with two outs, the Angels would get out of the jam with a strikeout. Nivaldo Rodriguez would come out of the bullpen for the bottom of the tenth and allowed the walk-off to tie the series at one apiece.

Up Next: The finale of this series will start at 3:10 PM Central on Sunday. The pitching matchup will be two pitchers looking to rebound from underwhelming season debuts. Josh James will be on the mound for Houston after allowing three runs over three innings in his first start, and Shohei Ohtani is starting for Los Angeles, who allowed five runs without recording an out in his.

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The Texans are the class of the division. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

The Houston Texans received a lot of praise for their moves in free agency across various outlets. And for good reason, most people believe the team got significantly better with the additions of Danielle Hunter, Azeez Al-Shaair, and Denico Autry among others.

But there's another factor to consider this offseason. How much have the other teams in the AFC South improved?

When looking at the PFF grades in free agency, the Colts received a B-minus. Most of the Colts moves this offseason involved spending a lot of money re-signing their own players. Which is great in theory, but it's hard to improve the overall quality of your roster when you're bringing back players that were already there to begin with. A lot will be riding on player development for the Colts to see a big jump this season. A healthy quarterback wouldn't hurt either.

The Jaguars have made some big additions financially this offseason by signing receiver Gabe Davis and defensive tackle Arik Armstead. They also lost the top receiver on the market, Calvin Ridley, to the Titans. Gabe Davis wasn't able to establish himself as a reliable No. 2 receiver with Josh Allen throwing him the ball in Buffalo. So it's hard to believe he'll take the next step in Jacksonville. Their best move of the offseason might have been retaining edge rusher Josh Allen by using the franchise tag on him. So what did PFF think of Jacksonville's offseason? They received a B-minus, just like the Colts.

The Titans have a lot of turnover heading into the 2024 season, and not just on the roster. They have a new head coach in Brian Callahan, who's looking to revamp Tennessee's offense. Early in free agency, they agreed to terms with former Cowboys running back Tony Pollard, signing him to a 3-year deal at $8 million per season. Which is more money than the Ravens are paying for Derrick Henry, who left the Titans in free agency. Calvin Ridley was the most notable addition to the squad, he received a 4-year, $92 million deal. And while this could be viewed as an overpay, at least he gives the Titans' offense some upside. Their receiving corps looks a lot more dangerous with Ridley added to DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks.

They also spent big at the center position, adding Lloyd Cushenberry on a 4-year, $50 million contract.

Because the Titans spent a lot of money on some highly coveted players, PFF gave them a B.

Now that brings us to the Texans. The Texans re-signed some of their own players like Dalton Schultz and Noah Brown. But they also made some big splashes with Hunter, Autry, Al-Shaair, and Joe Mixon. But the Texans spent their money in a more conservative way by not handing out many contracts over two years in length.

The Texans managed to add the best pass rusher in free agency with Hunter, but it's only a two-year deal. The overall talent level is going up on this roster, and GM Nick Caserio isn't having to sign players to long contracts that could come back and haunt him.

That's why we're seeing post-free agency power rankings coming out with Houston in the Top 10. And that's also why PFF gave the Texans an A for their moves in free agency.

Be sure to check out the video above as Craig from Sports Talk Extra takes an in-depth look at PFF's grades for the AFC South, and much more!

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