Astros' offense sputters in series finale loss to Cardinals

Astros Jose Abreu, Yordan Alvarez
The Cardinals defeat the Astros, 4-2. Composite Getty Image.

Nolan Arenado homered, Alec Burleson added an RBI double to back up a solid start by Miles Mikolas and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros 4-2 on Wednesday.

Burleson’s hit made it 3-0 in the fifth inning and Arenado added an insurance run in the sixth after the Astros got within 1 in the bottom of the fifth.

Mikolas (4-6) allowed five hits and two runs in six innings for the win. Ryan Helsley pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save.

Yainer Diaz homered for a third straight game and Trey Cabbage hit his first home run of the season, but the Astros were unable to complete the series sweep on a day when top hitters Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman sat out with injuries.

Tucker missed his second game after fouling a ball off his shin Monday night and Bregman was a late scratch with a sore left hand after being hit by a pitch Tuesday night.

Brandon Crawford got things going for St. Louis when he doubled to start the third and moved to third base on a groundout by Pedro Pagés. The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead when Crawford scored on a sacrifice fly by Michael Siani.

Pagés walked with one out in the fifth and advanced to second on a groundout by Siani. An RBI single by Brendan Donovan made it 2-0. Burleson then smacked a double to the corner of right field to score Donovan and push the lead to 3-0.

The Astros had managed just two singles when Diaz homered to the seats in right field with one out in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 3-1. Cabbage followed with his shot to the bullpen in right-center field to get the Astros within 3-2.

Arenado homered to left field off Ronel Blanco (5-2) with one out in the sixth to extend the lead to 4-2.

Blanco allowed five hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings for his second straight loss after opening the season 5-0, highlighted by a no-hitter in his season debut.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: RHPs Cristian Javier and José Urquidy are both scheduled to have right elbow surgery this week and are out for the season. Urquidy’s surgery is set for Wednesday and Javier’s is scheduled for Thursday. “Right now, they are both having an elbow surgery,” general manager Dana Brown said. “We’re not sure to the extent of it, but Tommy John is certainly a possibility talking with both of them.” … Manager Joe Espada said Tucker was still really sore, but the Astros hoped he could return Friday.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: RHP Sonny Gray (7-3, 3.00 ERA) starts for St. Louis against RHP (Cal Quantrill (4-4, 3.84) in the first of four games against Colorado on Thursday night.

Astros: They’re off Thursday before LHP Framber Valdez (4-3, 3.95) starts the opener of a series against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.

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The Texans can make a statement with a win against Detroit!Composite Getty Image.

Sunday night matchups don't get much exciting than this, as the Houston Texans host the Detroit Lions in prime-time at NRG.

The Lions come into this game on a six-game winning streak looking every bit of the best team in football. Houston on the other hand has lost two of their last three games with a struggling offense unable to protect their quarterback.

CJ Stroud has only one passing touchdown over this span, and is clearly having trouble adjusting to life without Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins.

If Houston is going to come away with an upset victory, they will need big performances from Tank Dell and Joe Mixon. After catching 4 passes against the Colts two weeks ago, Mixon not only failed to catch a single pass against the Jets, but he wasn't even targeted.

Considering the Texans' offensive line issues, choosing not to use Mixon as a pass catcher is hard to fathom. Especially since he and Dell are the team's top 2 playmakers.

What's working in the Texans' favor?

They play this game at home, where they are undefeated this season. A lot of the team's protection issues have popped up on the road, so communication should be easier for the offense on their home turf.

Bulls on Parade

We have good news and bad news about the defense this week. On the positive side, Azeez Al-Shaair and Jimmy Ward have returned to practice. If they're able to contribute on Sunday night, that would give the defense a lift.

And now for the bad news. Will Anderson has yet to practice this week after rolling his ankle in the Jets game. If he is unable to practice on Friday, it's hard to imagine he'll be active against Detroit.

X-factors

The Texans have to show some improvement on the offensive line this week.

Houston must lean on Joe Mixon again, as Nico Collins isn't expected to play.

Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown is one of the best receivers in the league, and he does most of his damage from the slot. If the Texans continue to deploy Jalen Pitre against premier receivers in man coverage, St. Brown is going to light up the scoreboard.

What would a win over the Lions mean to Houston?

The Texans are no longer considered a true championship contender because of their losses to the Packers, Vikings, and Jets. In fact, the Bills are the only team with a winning record that the Texans have beaten.

An upset win over the streaking Lions would change that narrative.

What does Vegas think?

The Lions are currently favored by 3.5 and the total is set at 49 points.

Don't miss the full preview of Texans-Lions in the video above!


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