WHAT A WEEKEND

No matter who you rooted for, it was a great weekend for Houston sports fans

No matter who you rooted for, it was a great weekend for Houston sports fans
It was a big weekend for fans of Houston teams. Elsa/Getty Images

If you are a Houston sports fan, chances are this past weekend was one of the best in recent memory. No matter who you rooted for, you had something to celebrate. A look at the winners:

1) The Astros took the first two games of the ALDS at Minute Maid Park before raucous crowds on Friday and Saturday, beginning their defense of the 2017 World Series title. They wrapped up the series in Cleveland on Monday with a dominant 11-3 win.

2) The Texans? They beat fan rivals (if not real rivals) Dallas 19-16 on Sunday Night Football before a national audience. The win was their second in a row after an 0-3 start.

3) Fan of the Texas Longhorns? They are officially back. They knocked off previously unbeaten and arch-rival Oklahoma to take charge of the Big 12.

4) Texas A&M? They beat a ranked Kentucky team (yes, Kentucky is good at football this year) and moved back into the Top 25.

5) The Houston Cougars started the weekend off with a nationally televised win over Tulsa on Thursday night. After an abyamal start, they cranked it up in the fourth quarter and kept pace in the American Athletic Conference.

6) While the post-fight brawl got all the attention at the UFC card Saturday night, Houstonian Derrick Lewis stole the show before all that with a monster knockout. He also picked up a bunch of new fans with his funny, memorable postfight interview. Lewis could be in line for a heavyweight title shot after the win. 

So unless you are a Rice Owls fan (well, sorry to all six of you), you had a good weekend. 

In the grand scheme of things, it's not much. But for a city that is not exactly swimming in titles, we don't get too many weekends like this. The Astros' World Series win was the first in the franchise's 50-plus year history. The Rockets, while close in the last few years, have not won a title since 1995, which means fans have the same bragging rights as Cowboys fans do on their most recent title. (Quite simply, neither of you can brag about those anymore. If a team has not won a title since you were born and you are drinking age or older, it no longer counts. Sorry).

All that aisde, the Astros might be on their way to another title and will face the Yankees or Red Sox next (they vanquished both on the way to the title last year). The Texans are now 2-3 and only a game out of first in a suddenly mediocre AFC South. And chances are good your college team still has a lot to pay for, too. So it was a darned good weekend for Houston fan.

No matter who you rooted for.

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The Tigers beat the Astros, 7-4. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.

Javy Báez capped a five-run third inning with his ninth career grand slam, and the Detroit Tigers avoided a series sweep by beating the Houston Astros 7-4 on Wednesday.

Baez’s two-out homer off AJ Blubaugh (0-1), a 24-year-old right-hander making his major league debut, put the Tigers ahead 7-1. All five runs were unearned due to shortstop Jeremy Peña throwing error on Kerry Carpenter's grounder.

Riley Greene tied his career high with four hits.

Brenan Hanifee (2-0) pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Jackson Jobe, who allowed three runs, four hits and four walks in three innings. Detroit has won five of seven and nine of 13.

Blubaugh (0-1) struck out two in a 1-2-3 first and gave up seven runs — two earned — and five hits in four innings with six strikeouts and a walk.

Blubaugh was optioned back to Sugar Land after the game.

Peña hit the first career leadoff home run, the first of his three hits, but Colt Keith hit a two-run homer in the second to put Detroit ahead for good.

Jose Altuve hit a two-run double in the fifth and Victor Caratini homered in the seventh against Tyler Holton.

Holton struck out Yainer Diaz to strand two runners in the seventh and Tommy Kahnle struck out Christian Walker to leave two runners on in the eighth.

Houston went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 runners.

Key moment

Báez drove a high sweeper over the left-field scoreboard.

Key stat

Houston allowed five unearned runs in the third inning after giving up three in its first 29 games.

Up next

Astros: LHP Framber Valdez (1-3 4.00 ERA) opens a three-game series at the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.

Tigers: RHP Casey Mize (4-1 2.12 ERA) opens a four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels and LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-4, 4.31) on Thursday night.

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