TALE OF THE TAPE
Houston Astros and Giants clash in decisive series finale
Jun 12, 2024, 10:32 am
Framber Valdez takes the hill for Houston. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
Houston Astros (31-37, third in the AL West) vs. San Francisco Giants (33-35, third in the NL West)
San Francisco; Wednesday, 3:45 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Framber Valdez (5-3, 3.53 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 50 strikeouts); Giants: Logan Webb (5-5, 2.92 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 73 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Giants -117, Astros -102; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros meet on Wednesday with the winner claiming the three-game series.
San Francisco has an 18-15 record in home games and a 33-35 record overall. The Giants have gone 9-4 in games when they hit two or more home runs.
Houston has a 14-19 record in road games and a 31-37 record overall. The Astros have the second-best team batting average in MLB play at .259.
Wednesday’s game is the third time these teams meet this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Matt Chapman leads San Francisco with eight home runs while slugging .400. Heliot Ramos is 15-for-39 with four home runs and 10 RBI over the past 10 games.
Alex Bregman has 12 doubles, a triple and nine home runs for the Astros. Yordan Alvarez is 15-for-39 with four doubles, a triple and four home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Giants: 4-6, .225 batting average, 4.39 ERA, outscored by six runs
Astros: 6-4, .267 batting average, 3.33 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs
INJURIES: Giants: Blake Snell: 15-Day IL (groin), Marco Luciano: 10-Day IL (undisclosed), LaMonte Wade Jr: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Jung Hoo Lee: 60-Day IL (labrum), Tom Murphy: 60-Day IL (head), Nick Ahmed: 10-Day IL (wrist), Alex Cobb: 60-Day IL (hip), Ethan Small: 60-Day IL (oblique), Austin Warren: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tristan Beck: 60-Day IL (arm), Robbie Ray: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Astros: Kyle Tucker: 10-Day IL (shin), Jose Urquidy: 60-Day IL (forearm), Spencer Arrighetti: day-to-day (calf), Cristian Javier: 15-Day IL (forearm), Oliver Ortega: 60-Day IL (elbow), Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Penn Murfee: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Texas Longhorns still believe in quarterback Quinn Ewers despite two poor games from the third-year starter who was briefly benched in last week's loss to No. 1 Georgia, coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday.
Ewers struggled through one of his worst career games against the Bulldogs, completing 25 of 43 passes for 211 yards with an interception and two fumbles. He was 6-of-12 passing for 17 yards on the Longhorns' first six drives, and was replaced by Arch Manning in the second quarter as Georgia took a 23-0 lead into halftime.
Ewers returned in the third quarter and led two touchdown drives. But the overall performance in one of the biggest games of the season was well below what was expected from a veteran quarterback who some predict as a potential first round NFL draft pick.
Texas never led against the Bulldogs and Ewers looked rattled.
Sarkisian has insisted that Ewers remains the No. 1 quarterback going forward.
“We have confidence and belief in him,” Sarkisian said. “I think he's going to come out and play really good football for us here in the second half of the season.”
Texas (6-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) plays at No. 25 Vanderbilt (5-2, 2-1) on Saturday.
Ewers did not meet with reporters on Monday.
He had performed at his best in some of Texas' biggest games the previous two seasons. He was considered a likely Heisman Trophy contender after the Longhorns won at defending national champion Michigan in week two.
But he was sidelined by an abdomen strain in the first half a week later against UTSA, and the injury knocked him out of the next two games. He returned for Texas' 34-3 win over Oklahoma, but had just 199 yards and one touchdown passing and said he needed to play better.
Against Georgia, Ewers appeared hesitant against a fierce Bulldogs pass rush and missed several throws. The Bulldogs recorded seven sacks and Texas never led.
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck was arguably having an even worse game. He was 23-of-41 passing for 175 yards and three interceptions.
But after Texas cut the Georgia lead to 23-15, Beck answered by leading the Bulldogs on an 11-play, 89-yard drive to the final touchdown of the game.
“I think Quinn definitely can play better. We've got to continue to work on his pocket presence,” Sarkisian said. “But I also think we need to play better around him. You know, our offense isn't about one player playing well.”
Texas rushed for just 29 yards and and managed only 259 total yards of offense against Georgia.
Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. said the Longhorns will rally behind Ewers.
“We're always going to trust Quinn. We're always going to believe in Quinn,” Banks said.