Houston takes both games over the Rangers
Astros homer their way to mini-sweep over Rangers
Jun 16, 2021, 10:12 pm
Houston takes both games over the Rangers
After winning dramatically in the opener of this short two-game series with the Rangers, the Astros tried to complete the sweep on Wednesday night. They didn't wait until the last minute in this one, blasting multiple home runs, including two by Chas McCormick, en route to the win.
Final Score: Astros 8, Rangers 4
Astros' Record: 39-28, second in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Zack Greinke (7-2)
Losing Pitcher: Jordan Lyles (2-5)
Homer to end it last night and a homer to start it tonight for @JoseAltuve27. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ruRaKLeVyL
— MLB (@MLB) June 17, 2021
Jose Altuve, who hit a walk-off grand slam the night prior, started off Houston's offensive night right where he left off with a solo homer in the bottom of the first to put Houston up 1-0. The ball kept flying out for the Astros in the next inning, with Chas McCormick hitting a two-run blast and Martin Maldonado a solo shot, making it a 4-0 game through two. Texas would get on the board against Zack Greinke in the top of the third on a solo home run, but Myles Straw got that run right back to push the lead back to four by depositing one into the Crawford Boxes, making it 5-1.
Through the first five innings, that solo homer allowed by Greinke was his only major blemish. He kept going in the top of the sixth, but the Rangers loaded the bases against him on two singles and a walk with one out. He would get a big strikeout of Joey Gallo for the second out, but Dusty Baker would make the call to bring in Brooks Raley to try and get out of the jam. Raley would instead allow two more runs to Greinke's stats, giving up a two-RBI single before getting the last out. Greinke's final line: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 89 P.
.@chazzyfizzz goes deep AGAIN. 🤯#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/3Y5hs15Y7j
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 17, 2021
Houston wasted no time to grab the momentum back, thanks to McCormick's second homer of the night, a solo homer to start the bottom of the sixth to make it a three-run game. Eli White matched that with his second home run of the game for the Rangers, another solo homer to cut the lead back to two at 6-4 against Cristian Javier in the top of the seventh. Houston got their first run on a non-homer in the bottom of the seventh, putting two on base to set up an RBI double by Carlos Correa.
Javier continued on the mound in the top of the eighth, erasing a leadoff walk for a scoreless inning. Jose Altuve hit his third home run of this series and second of the game, with a two-out solo homer to make it 8-4, heading to the ninth. The Astros turned to Ryne Stanek with the four-run lead to finish things off, which he would do to wrap up the two-game sweep for Houston.
Up Next: With this quick two-game set complete with the Rangers, the Astros will welcome in a much fiercer opponent for four games as the 43-25 Chicago White Sox come to town. In the opener, Jose Urquidy (4-3, 3.77 ERA) for the Astros will go up against Dylan Cease (5-2, 3.38 ERA).
The NFL playoffs are finally here, and the Texans will kick off the postseason by hosting the LA Chargers this Saturday at NRG.
And while the Texans are only 3 point underdogs, the national media is making it seem like Houston has no chance against Justin Herbert and company.
ESPN's Rex Ryan has gone as far as calling the Texans a "bye" week for the Chargers, giving the team no chance to win despite playing at home.
However, the Texans are no stranger to this situation, as they were given little chance to win against the Browns in last year's Wild Card game. And we know how that ended, with the Texans thrashing the Browns 45-14.
It's certainly fair to predict the Chargers will come away with a win this Saturday, they have been playing much better football than Houston in recent weeks.
But it's important to remember that home underdogs have performed well in the Wild Card round. In fact, home underdogs are 16-14 all-time in the Wild Card playoffs, and both home underdogs won last year (Texans, Buccaneers).
Speaking of last year, many credit the Texans defense for securing the win over Cleveland, with two pick sixes in the second half helping to seal the deal.
But the real reason Houston won the game was because of CJ Stroud and the offense. Stroud threw 3 touchdowns before halftime and the team was leading 24-14 with six minutes left in the third quarter. That's when the defense tacked on two interceptions for touchdowns and put the game out of reach. Stroud and the offense also went on to score another TD on a Devin Singletary run.
If Stroud and the offense didn't put so much pressure on Joe Flacco and the Cleveland offense to score, he may not have forced those passes that were picked off.
Now, many will point to the Chargers having the best defense (points allowed) this season, but it's worth noting the Browns had the number one defense (yards allowed) last year as well.
Bulls on Parade
Houston's defense will have its hands full against a strong rushing attack led by JK Dobbins. And Justin Herbert has been terrific this season, spreading the ball around to his top two targets, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston.
Fortunately for the Texans, they are extremely healthy on defense this week. While Jimmy Ward and Jalen Pitre are out for the year, we'll finally get to see linebackers Azeez Al-Shaair and Christian Harris play together for the first time this season.
The defensive line is expected to be at full strength as well, keep in mind Jonathan Greenard was injured and unable to play against the Browns last year.
Outlook on offense
We should see the best possible version of the offensive line this Saturday. We're all aware how many hits Stroud has taken due to poor o-line play. But with Tytus Howard and left guard and Juice Scruggs at right guard, Stroud should have more time to get the passing game going, featuring Nico Collins.
Speaking of the receivers, it's pretty amazing that this receiver group is almost identical to last year's in the Wild Card round. Stroud didn't have Stefon Diggs (on the Bills) or Tank Dell (injured) to throw to last year, either. But he does have one big addition in Joe Mixon this year. Hopefully, they can get Mixon involved in the passing game, and the shuffling of the o-line provides Mixon with some holes to run through.
X-factor
At least there's a possibility newly acquired receiver Diontae Johnson could provide a spark to the offense. Last year John Metchie and Robert Woods were the main targets besides Collins and Dalton Schultz.
What does Vegas think?
The Chargers are favored by 3 and the total is set at 42.5 points
Don't miss the video above as the crew from Texans on Tap previews this week's big game!