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Astros stumble again as Braves complete gut-wrenching series sweep
Apr 17, 2024, 4:51 pm
Braves beat Houston in extra innings, 5-4. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.
Marcell Ozuna hit his major league-leading eighth homer and Orlando Arcia’s RBI single in the 10th inning lifted the Atlanta Braves to a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
It completes a three-game sweep of the struggling Astros and is Atlanta’s fourth straight victory.
The Braves scored two runs in the eighth inning to tie it at 4-4. Michael Harris II started the 10th as the automatic runner on second and there was one out in the inning when Seth Martinez (1-1) intentionally walked Matt Olson.
Ozuna lined out to right field to send Harris to third base. Arcia then singled on a ground ball to left field to score Harris and put the Braves on top.
Pinch-runner Jake Meyers was on second when Kyle Tucker walked with no outs in the 10th. Meyers moved to third on a fly out by Yainer Diaz but Jeremy Peña grounded into a double play to end it.
A.J. Minter (3-1) got the last two outs of the ninth for the win and Raisel Iglesias earned his fifth save.
Reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. added his first homer of the season to help the Braves to the victory. Ozuna also leads the majors with 23 RBIs and he extended his hitting streak to 16 games, which ties his career best and is the longest active streak in the majors.
Yordan Alvarez and Mauricio Dubón both homered for the Astros, who fell to 6-14 and are last in the AL West.
There was one out in the first when Alvarez connected on his homer to the seats in left field to put Houston up 1-0.
Ozuna opened the second with his 432-foot shot to left field, which bounced off the wall and tied the game.
Acuña put the Braves up 2-1 when he sent the first pitch of the fifth inning to straightaway center field.
The Astros tied it on an RBI single by Alex Bregman in the fifth and Kyle Tucker’s RBI double came next to put the Astros up 3-2.
Dubón hit his first home run of the year off Jesse Chavez to start Houston’s sixth and push the lead to 4-2.
Harris singled to start the seventh before a ground-rule double by Austin Riley. Olson reached, and Harris scored on a fielding error by first baseman José Abreu when he couldn’t grab a routine ground ball.
There was one out in the inning when Riley scored on a sacrifice fly by Arcia to tie it at 4-all.
Houston starter J.P. France allowed four hits and two runs in five innings.
Max Fried gave up seven hits and three runs in five innings.
UP NEXT
Braves: Atlanta is off Thursday before opening a series against Texas on Friday night with LHP Chris Sale (1-1, 4.58 ERA) on the mound.
Astros: Houston is also off Thursday before ace Justin Verlander will make his season debut Friday night against Washington. The three-time Cy Young Award winner opened the season on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder.
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Houston Astros make necessary, difficult decision on Jose Abreu
Apr 30, 2024, 4:24 pm
The Houston Texans entered the NFL Draft knowing they had several options at the running back position with Joe Mixon, Dameon Pierce, and Dare Ogunbowale.
So it wasn't a surprise to learn they only drafted one running back, Jawhar Jordan, and they waited until the sixth-round to do so. But as all Texans fans know, you can find a diamond in the rough at this position that goes undrafted from time to time.
Arian Foster, the best running back in Houston's franchise history, went undrafted. To be clear, we're not comparing North Carolina RB British Brooks to Foster. But he does have some traits that could play at the next level, and he possesses some qualities that the Texans covet.
He was a team captain at North Carolina, he has great size at 5'11 225 pounds, and the dude loves to play special teams (he's a two-time special teams MVP). Plus, he plays a position that adapts quickly to the NFL. And when comparing him to Jordan, two things really stick out, size and power. Jordan weighed in at 193 pounds at the combine, running a 4.56 forty. Not exactly the speed you would expect from a back well under 200 pounds.
How much production did Brooks have at UNC?
When you look at his resume, it's no surprise that he went undrafted. He played 5 seasons for the Tar Heels, dealt with injuries, and never recorded a 1,000 yard season. Brooks was slated to lead North Carolina's running back room in 2022, but a leg injury derailed his season.
Head coach Mack Brown had some very positive things to say about the player. Per 247 Sports Inside Carolina:
"(Brooks) is one of the best leaders on our team," UNC head coach Mack Brown said after Brooks' decision to return. "He's an amazing story of a walk-on, who gets himself into school and he's a tremendous student, and then he's special teams Player of the (Week) all the time. We tried to take him out of the game on special teams (vs. N.C. State) and he absolutely refused, because he was playing so much in the game at running back, and he would not come off."
We know the Texans pride themselves on special teams, so perhaps that can be an avenue for Brooks to make the team. And after that, who knows? Maybe the Texans could use his bruising body in goal line situations down the road.
Be sure to watch the video above as Chris from Sports Talk Extra shares his thoughts on the Texans' intriguing signing at running back, and much more! You can watch his highlights below.