Houston grabs the win in dramatic fashion

Altuve's walk-off slam lifts Astros over Rangers

Chris Campise
Jun 15, 2021, 10:54 pm
Jose Altuve blasted the game-winning grand slam Tuesday against the Rangers. Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

With the recent 6-3 road trip behind them and fresh off a day off on Monday, the Astros returned home to Minute Maid Park on Tuesday night to welcome in the Rangers for a quick two-game set, kicking off 20 days of consecutive games. After trailing most of the game, Carlos Correa forced extra innings, where Jose Altuve would play the hero to win the game for the Astros.

Final Score: Astros 6, Rangers 3

Astros' Record: 38-28, second in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Ryan Pressly (3-1)

Losing Pitcher: Demarcus Evans (0-2)

McCullers Jr. returns from the IL

After three scoreless innings by Lance McCullers Jr. in his return from the IL, the Rangers would get a run, the first of the game, against him in the top of the fourth. Then, after the first out in the fifth, Texas would load the bases against him on two walks and an error, forcing him out of the game as Dusty Baker would bring in Blake Taylor for damage control. Taylor issued a four-pitch walk to bring in a run against his first batter before retiring the next two, finalizing McCullers Jr.'s line at 4.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 77 P.

Odorizzi does his job to piggyback, Correa forces extras

As previously noted by Houston's manager, Jake Odorizzi came in to piggyback McCullers starting in the top of the sixth to get some work while Houston benefits from having six healthy starters. He worked around a leadoff single for a scoreless inning in the sixth, then in the home half, Houston was able to load the bags with one out on three singles. Yuli Gurriel delivered a sac fly to cut the deficit in half, but that's all they would get as the game moved on.

After a scoreless seventh on both sides, Odorizzi worked around another single in the top of the eighth to keep the score at 2-1. Houston went down 1-2-3 for the second straight frame in the bottom of the inning, then Odorizzi kept going in the top of the ninth, recording his fourth scoreless inning. Down to their last out, Carlos Correa would keep the game alive by launching a solo homer to tie the game 2-2 and forcing extra innings.

Altuve walks it off in grand fashion

Ryan Pressly entered for the top of the tenth, but after two strikeouts, he would give up a tough-luck RBI single to score the free runner to put the Rangers back in front 3-2. Houston loaded the bases to start the bottom of the inning, getting back-to-back walks to put the winning run on second base. Jose Altuve wouldn't just bring in those two; instead, hitting a walk-off grand slam to win it, 6-3.

Up Next: The second and final game of this short series will be another 7:10 PM Central start on Wednesday. The Rangers will send Jordan Lyles (2-4, 5.37 ERA) to the mound while the Astros will look to their ace, Zack Greinke (6-2, 3.68 ERA), to get the win.

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TEXANS TRAINING CAMP WATCH

Texans top pick just turned up the juice ahead of preseason debut

The Houston Texans have just a couple of practices before their preseason debut. Here are 11 observations from Tuesday’s workout.

1.The offense stunk on Tuesday. It was inconsistent and resembled more of last year’s disappointing performances than any other practices in this training camp.

2. Davis Mills and his receivers had a few miscommunications on Tuesday. Mills sailed a pass to nobody when he and Brandin Cooks weren’t on the same page. There were some other throws to nowhere in the day. It was something that hadn’t been present at all in training camp to this point.

3. There were a few “good coverage” notes on Tuesday. Not to say there was one specific player, but a handful of team-level efforts that led to the note.

4. It wasn’t all wrong from the offense. After a pass to nowhere Davis Mills and the offense bounced back. It was a second down during a team drill and Mills fired a pass to Chris Moore for six yards. Rex Burkhead would pick up a first down on a rush a play later. A non-positive play last year on first down doomed this team. That hopefully won’t be the case for this year’s team.

5. Chad Beebe is going into his fifth season in the NFL, his first with the Texans. The former Vikings pass catcher has flashed a few times in training camp. He has an uphill battle being new to the team but is trying to make himself a factor.

6. Phillip Dorsett had a big catch over the middle. Davis Mills stood back and delivered as the offensive line held up and Dorsett reeled it in for a huge gain. No defenders were around him. It is between Dorsett and Chris Moore for the chance to be the slot wideout opening day. With Dorsett’s return to practice, it is becoming a fun camp battle.

7.Speaking of returns to practice, Tytus Howard was back. Howard has his reps managed and after practice, offensive line coach George Warhop Howard was “getting his wind” back. When Howard was having his reps managed rookie tackle Austin Deculus played at right tackle. Deculus looks much more consistent than minicamp and OTAs.

8. Kenyon Green is still out with an injury. It is getting to a critical time where the time missed might prevent the first-rounder from starting week one. Max Scharping hasn’t looked bad in his chances with the first team. Offensive line coach George Warhop said they believe in Green and his ability and he has been in meetings to stay up to date.

9. Ka’imi Fairbairn was perfect in one of the special team periods. He drilled all five kicks, each further than the last, and was crushing the football.

10. Derek Stingley was very sticky in some early reps on Nico Collins. The third overall pick is so smooth when he is working. Later his coverage forced a throw from the offense that had no chance of being completed.

11. The play of the day was made by Derek Stingley. The offense was about five or six yards out of the end zone needing a touchdown to win. With six seconds left on the clock, any completed pass that wasn’t a touchdown was game over. Davis Mills dropped back a step and fired to Nico Collins who Stingley covered. The rookie kept the second-year player out of the end zone to earn the defense a win. This was one of the better Stingley days and he did a lot of work. At one point, it looked as though he and Rex Burkhead had some words and almost led to an offense and defense scuffle, but it stayed to just some shouting. The rookie shined today.

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