National media's bizarre Texans ranking fuels debate over key changes

SPORTSMAP ROUNDTABLE

Bleacher Report recently published a ranking of every NFL QB's supporting cast for 2020. The Texans were listed at #23 behind teams like the Bears, Raiders, and Eagles. Last season, the Texans were ranked 15 and the media has them falling pretty significantly this season mostly due to the loss of DeAndre Hopkins. Houston certainly doesn't have a number one receiver as accomplished as Hopkins, but their group of receivers is much deeper this year after adding Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb.

Plus, the Texans should be better at RB with David Johnson in the mix to go along with Duke Johnson. Check out the video as we debate whether this is a fair ranking, or just more blowback from the Hopkins trade.

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The Guardians beat the Astros, 4-2. Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images.

José Ramírez homered for a third straight game, Angel Martínez also went deep and the Cleveland Guardians got a 4-2 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep.

It’s the first time the Guardians, who entered the series on a 10-game skid, have won three in a row since a four-game winning streak from May 21-24.

Slade Cecconi (4-4) allowed five hits and two runs with a career-best nine strikeouts in 7-plus innings for the win. Paul Sewald pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save.

Martínez homered for a second straight at-bat with his shot to the Crawford Boxes with one out in the first inning. His grand slam with two outs in the 10th inning Tuesday night lifted Cleveland to a 10-6 win.

Four pitches after Martinez’s homer Wednesday, Ramírez also connected off Brandon Walter (1-2) to make it 2-0. Walter settled in after that, retiring the next 17 batters, with seven strikeouts before Bennett Sousa took over to start the seventh.

Ramírez and Carlos Santana hit consecutive singles with no outs in the inning before David Fry walked to load the bases. Johnathan Rodríguez then singled to score two and extend the lead to 4-0.

The Astros had managed just four singles when Taylor Trammell walked with no outs in the eighth and scored on a double by Mauricio Dubón that cut the lead to 4-1. There were two outs in the inning when Jose Altuve’s RBI double made it 4-2.

The AL West-leading Astros went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position to cap this disappointing series which came after they swept the Dodgers in Los Angeles over the weekend.

Key moment

Martínez and Ramírez had back-to-back homers in the first.

Key stat

Ramírez, who dropped out of next week’s All-Star game Wednesday to rehab a nagging Achilles injury, has four homers and seven RBIs this month.

Up next

LHP Logan Allen (5-7, 4.07 ERA) will start for Cleveland in the opener of a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox Thursday night. The Astros are off Thursday and haven’t announced their rotation for their weekend series against the Rangers.

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