ASTROS DEFEAT CARDINALS
Yanier Diaz homers in a second straight game, powers the Astros past the Cardinals
Jun 4, 2024, 10:51 pm
Astros defeat Cardinals, 8-5. Composite Getty Image.
Yainer Diaz homered in a second straight game to lead the Houston Astros to an 8-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.
3 run homer for Yainer! pic.twitter.com/vT1Hfjvkkq
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 5, 2024
Playing without star right fielder Kyle Tucker, the Astros got a three-run homer from Diaz in the third inning as they took the first two games of a three-game set with the Cardinals. Diaz hit a go-ahead two-run homer in Monday’s 7-4 win.
Tucker, who left Monday’s game after hitting a foul ball off his right shin, was diagnosed with a contusion and sat out Tuesday night. He is tied for second in the majors with 19 homers.
Houston scored six runs off Cardinals starter Andre Pallante (1-2). He allowed six hits and walked three in three innings.
Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti allowed three hits and one run in three innings. He was evaluated by trainers in the second after he was struck in the left leg by a 103.8 mph comebacker. He threw 64 pitches and left the game after the third with a left calf contusion.
Astros reliever Tayler Scott (2-2) allowed three hits and one run in two innings. Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save of the season.
The Cardinals cut into Houston’s lead with solo homers from Masyn Winn in the sixth inning and Nolan Gorman in the seventh. Gorman’s homer appeared to graze off the glove of a leaping Mauricio Dubón after a fan bumped into the Astros right fielder.
Alec Burleson homered for St. Louis in the first.
The Astros improved to 3-1 in June but remain six games under .500 (28-34). The Cardinals fell to 3-5 on a nine-game trip that wraps up Wednesday.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: RHP reliever Keynan Middleton will undergo season-ending surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right arm, manager Oliver Marmol said. Middleton, who signed with the Cardinals in the offseason, felt discomfort in his forearm during spring training and started the year on the injured list.
Astros: RHP Cristian Javier is expected to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on Thursday, the Athletic reported. Astros general manager Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada have said they wouldn’t have any information on the 27-year-old's condition until later in the week. Javier is 3-1 with a 3.89 ERA.
UP NEXT
RHP Miles Mikolas (3-6, 5.54 ERA) will start the series finale for the Cardinals on Wednesday. Astros RHP Ronel Blanco (5-1, 2.44) will try to bounce back from his first loss of the season in his last outing, against Minnesota.
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The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!