2 BOMBS FOR YORDAN!
Yordan Alvarez belts 2 home runs, drives in 3 to lift Astros to 5-4 win over Red Sox
Aug 10, 2024, 6:36 pm
Astros defeat the Red Sox, 5-4.Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images.
Yordan Alvarez belted two home runs and drove in three runs, rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high 13 over seven innings and the Houston Astros beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Saturday.
Zach Dezenzo hit his first major-league homer and Alex Bregman added a solo shot for the AL West-leading Astros, who won their second straight over Boston and fourth straight overall.
Danny Jansen and Masataka Yoshida each had a solo homer for the Red Sox, who lost a series for the first time in their last four.
In recording his 19th career multi-homer game, Alvarez improved his lofty career numbers in Fenway Park, where he’s batting .463 with seven homers and 19 RBIs. He entered the day leading all AL hitters with a .354 average in road games.
His second shot came off a slider from Brad Keller (0-3) and traveled an estimated 422 feet into the right-field seats.
Arrighetti (5-10) gave up just two hits — the solo homers — and walked one in his 92-pitch outing.
Josh Hader got the final three outs for his 25th save despite giving up Rafael Devers’ leadoff double. It was his 25th straight successful save opportunity, which is a club record.
Alvarez had given Houston a 1-0 lead when he sent Josh Winckowski’s changeup over Boston’s bullpen in the first.
Bregman’s seventh-inning drive sailed deep in the batters’ eye in center off Keller. Dezenzo’s went over Green Monster seats in left.
Wilyer Abreu’s two-run single sliced Boston’s deficit to 5-4 in the eighth.
Called up from Triple-A Sugar Land in April to fill an opening in Houston’s injury-depleted rotation, the 24-year-old Arrighetti kept Boston’s hitters off balance by mixing his mid-90 mph fastball with a change, sweeper and curveball until Jansen hit a first-pitch fastball completely out of Fenway over the Monster to open the fifth.
Arrighetti, the club’s top pitching prospect entering the season, was coming off his best start in his last outing, when he struck out 12 over six innings, holding Tampa Bay to one run in a tough-luck loss.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: RHP Kendall Graveman (right shoulder surgery) threw off the Fenway Park mound before the game. Manager Joe Espada said it was around 10 pitches and they’ll wait to see how he feels before the next step. … RHP Justin Verlander (neck discomfort) was still expected to make a rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday night.
Red Sox: RHP Liam Hendriks threw his second live BP, this time off the Fenway mound as he continues his return from ulnar collateral ligament surgery last August. He’s expected to throw another on Tuesday or Wednesday and could go on a rehab assignment after that. “Today was better than the other day,” he said. “The other day we noticed a couple of things. We, I mean, the coaching staff and my wife. She pulled up (clips) of how I used to pitch.” … 1B Triston Casas (strained rib since mid-April) continues his rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester. Manager Alex Cora said he won’t be back this weekend or the upcoming three games against Texas.
UP NEXT
RHP Hunter Brown (9-7, 3.98 ERA) is set to go for the Astros in Sunday’s series finale against LHP James Paxton (9-3, 4.42), who is making his third start with Boston since he was acquired in a trade from the Dodgers.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Early breakdown of how Astros stack up against potential playoff opponents
Sep 17, 2024, 5:03 pm
Though they have plenty of work to do, the Houston Texans are feeling good about their 2-0 start after dropping their first two games last season.
The Texans scored just three points after halftime Sunday night, but a smothering defensive performance allowed them to hold on for a 19-13 win over the Bears. The victory has them in early control in the AFC South after the Colts, Titans and Jaguars have all opened the season 0-2.
It’s the first time since 2016 that Houston has won its first two games.
“I definitely know that Texans football was not what we put on the field (Sunday), at least in the second half,” quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “We’ll definitely be better, for sure."
Stroud threw for 260 yards and a touchdown, but the Texans punted on five of their seven possessions in the second half and fumbled on another drive. Their only points after halftime came on a field goal early in the fourth quarter.
“Second half we were just flat,” Stroud said. “Just needed a big play or just needed (to) stack plays really. We just couldn’t find our rhythm.”
One thing that slowed the Texans on Sunday was their inability to run the ball effectively. Houston managed just 75 yards rushing against the Bears after leading the NFL with 213 yards in Week 1.
“They had a lot of penetration,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We weren’t able to have the lanes that we had the previous weeks. Something we have to clean up on the offensive side and make sure we just continue to get a head on the hat no matter what they show us.”
The running game was slowed because of an ankle injury to Joe Mixon, who had 159 yards rushing in the opener. He was injured early in the third quarter and returned near the end of the period, but had just two carries for 5 yards the rest of the game as he dealt with the injury. He finished with nine carries for 25 yards.
Ryans said that Mixon got “rolled up” and that it’s too early to know if he’ll play next week.
What’s working
The Texans were relentless in their pressure on rookie quarterback Caleb Williams Sunday night. Houston pressured Williams, the top overall pick in the draft, on 36 of his 37 pass attempts, according to NextGenStats.
Defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter combined for 17 pressures and the Texans piled up seven sacks, which is tied for the second most in franchise history.
Houston had six different players with a sack Sunday night and the team’s nine sacks through two games ranks second in the NFL behind Minnesota’s 11 entering Monday.
What needs help
The Texans must get their running game back on track next week, which will be a tough task if Mixon can’t play. They could be without their top two running backs Sunday with Dameon Pierce dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of the game against Chicago.
Stock up
K Ka′imi Fairbairn has been great this season, with Ryans crediting him for Sunday night’s win. He was 4-for-4 against the Bears, making kicks of 59, 56, 53 and 47 yards. He also made three field goals of 50-plus yards in Week 1 to become the first kicker in NFL history to make five or more field goals of 50 yards or longer in a two-game span.
His 59-yard field goal on Sunday night was the second-longest in franchise history behind a 61-yard kick he made in 2021.
“He’s been consistent,” Ryans said. “He’s on it. He’s the reason why we’re standing here. We talk a lot about offense and defense (but) the kicking game is the reason why we won this game.”
Stock down
RB Cam Akers. Pushed into action because of injuries, Akers fumbled on the Chicago 4 with about 6½ minutes left Sunday. The Bears recovered the ball and it led to a field goal that got them within a score with less than three minutes left.
Injuries
Mixon and Pierce are the main injuries the team is dealing with this week.
Key number
252 — Entering Monday, wide receiver Nico Collins leads the NFL with 252 yards receiving, which is the second most in franchise history in the first two games of a season. Collins, who had a career-high 1,297 yards receiving last season, had 135 yards receiving and a touchdown Sunday night for the seventh 100-yard game of his career.
Next steps
Stroud and Houston’s offense will look to clean up their play and move the ball more effectively when they face an early test in a visit to the Minnesota Vikings, who are also 2-0, on Sunday.