Some things you need to know about Texans and Texas teams involved in sports: • • • • • • • 1. Astros paint positive picture with 6-1 victory< The Astros used a paint by numbers system to fill in the bright picture manager Bo Porter outlined the day before. ... Jarred Cosart won his fourth consecutive start, as Houston snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-1 win over the Braves at Minute Maid Park. ... George Springer hit his 15th homer -- the most by a rookie before the All-Star Game in club history. Lance Berkman had the previous mark with 12 in 2000. Matt Dominguez hit his 11th -- a three-run homer in the fifth inning to break his 0-for-23 drought and put Houston team ahead 6-1. ... Thats the big hit that when we were in this here funk that we were in, thats the big hit that had been eluding us, and Matty did a tremendous job of getting the fastball up and putting a good swing on it, Porter said. Its good to see these guys bounce back and swing the bat and pitch and play the game and come out on top, Porter said. ... Cosart improved to 8-5 to match Dallas Keuchel, giving them 16 combined wins. Thats the most prior to the All-Star break by an Astros duo since Wandy Rodriguez (9-6) and Andy Pettitte (7-9) combined for 16 wins in the first half in 2006. Cosart delivered his 10th quality start in his past 12 outings by holding the Braves to six hits and one run. ... The Astros tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning when Jose Altuve singled and scored on a double by Jon Singleton. They took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning when Jesus Guzmans grounder drove in Dominguez, who had been hit by a pitch and moved to third on Castros double. ... Singleton had two hits and an RBI and Altuve added a pair of hits and swiped two bases for the Astros, who had managed just four runs combined and had been shut out twice in a four-game losing streak. Altuve leads the AL with 107 hits and 30 steals. ... • • • • • • • 2. Victory drought saddles Rangers< While the Metroplex has been receiving generous rainfall, the Texas Rangers are undergoing a victory drought of massive proportions. ... The Detroit Tigers beat the skidding Texas Rangers 6-0 Thursday night for a series sweep and their seventh consecutive victory. The Rangers have lost eight in a row, Thats the longest losing streak since dropping eight in a row in August 2005. ... The Rangers are 1-6-1 in their last eight series overall, and 16-22 at home. Texas got three hits as Rick Porcello recorded his first career shutout and 10th victory this season. Miguel Cabrera had four hits and Austin Jackson (Denton Guyer HS) hit a two-run single for Detroit. ... Hes got a pretty good sinker, we all know that, Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus said of Porcello. I think that he made the right pitches in the right moment. He just located the sinker inside and theres nothing else you can do about it. ... Rangers rookie Nick Martinez (1-5) allowed six hits and walked five of the 18 batters he faced in 2 1/3 innings. After Martinez was pulled, Kinsler greeted reliever Scott Baker with an RBI single that made it 4-0. ... Kinsler, the three-time All-Star second baseman for the Rangers who was traded to Detroit for Prince Fielder in the offseason, homered in his first at-bat Tuesday in his return to Texas as an opponent. He went 6-for-14 in the series with four runs and four RBIs. With two hits in all three games, Kinsler extended his streak of multi-hit games to five and is hitting .302 on the season. He is one multi-hit game behind Houstons Jose Altuve for most in the majors. ... Baker now has the most relief outings of five or more innings by a Ranger since Danny Darwin in 1980. Tremendous job, Washington said of his reliable reliever. He certainly came in and did what hes been doing for us all year when weve been having trouble getting through early innings. He came in and bridged the gap, and kept the bullpen out of the game tonight. It could have been a disaster. ... • • • • • • • 3. NBA Draft Notes: Former Texas HS players go in draft< The Celtics selected Oklahoma State point guard Marcus Smart (Flower Mound Marcus HS) with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. At 6-foot-3, 227 pounds, Smart owns an NBA-ready body and is known for being a physical presence at both ends of the floor. ... He can play off the ball, but spent his sophomore season at Oklahoma State establishing himself as a point guard. Although Smart averaged 18.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, its his defense that helps set him apart. He was a Big 12 All-Defensive first teamer in 2013-14, averaging 2.9 steals per game. ... • Former Plano Prestonwood and Kentucky star Julius Randle was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the seventh overall pick. Randle, a 6-foot-9 power forward, left Kentucky after just one season, where he helped the Wildcats finish as the national runners up. He averaged 15.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. ... • Baylors Isaiah Austin (Arlington Grace Prep Academy), ruled out of competitive basketball for medical reasons, was a guest of NBA commissioner Adam Silver at the draft and announced as a special selection between the 15th and 16th picks of the first round. ... • Baylors Cory Jefferson (Killeen HS) was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the 60th and final pick in the NBA draft. Numerous reports suggest his draft rights will be traded to the Brooklyn Nets, although the trade hasn’t officially been completed. ... • • • • • • • 4. Baseball Briefs: Bruce leads Reds past Giants 3-1< Jay Bruce (Beaumont Westbrook HS) had a double and two singles, scoring twice as Cincinnati beat the Giants 3-1. ... Justin Ruggianos (Austin Anderson HS, Blinn College and Texas A&M) two-out, two-run double broke a tie in the seventh inning, leading the Cubs to a 5-3 win over the Nationals. ... Josh Beckett (Houston Spring HS) allowed just four hits and two walks through seven innings and ended up with a no-decision as the Dodgers beat the Cardinals 1-0. ... Rangers outfielder Engel Beltre will begin a 20-day medical rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock. Beltre started the season on the disabled list with a fracture in his right tibia. ... Houston called up pitcher Jose Veras and outfielder L.J. from Triple-A Oklahoma City and sent outfielder Robbie Grossman and pitcher Kyle Farnsworth to Triple-A. ... • • • • • • • 5. FYI: This blog features Texas teams and athletes with Texas connections. It is compiled by retired newspaper journalist Bob Sonderegger (anglebob61@yahoo) who covered many of the teams mentioned. Your comments or additions are welcome.
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 16:00:25 +0000
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