Houston Sports Round Up: Astros In The ALCS, Texans Battered QB

HOUSTON, TX — Don’t look now but this is the time of year that all the area sports teams become active at just about the same time. The Rockets are poised to their regular season after wrapping up their preseason, while the Texans and the rest of the NFL are closing in on the season’s midpoint, and the Astros are headed to the American League Championship Series.

The Rockets looked hot in preseason action Tuesday night against the Shanghai Sharks, with the Rockets winning big 128-86. To call this one a whooping would be an understatement.

The Rockets hit 28 three-pointers. James Harden hit nine of those three-point buckets and scored 37 of the Rockets’ points.

The Rockets will wrap up their preseason on Friday when they travel to Memphis to play the Grizzlies. They open the regular season on the road against the new Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. Last season, the Rockets won a league best 65 games, and lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Golden State Warriors.

The Astros are hoping to stay hot when they play the Boston Red Sox who had the best record in the major league with 108 wins. The Sox will enjoy home field advantage as a result when the Stros travel to Fenway Park for a Saturday night game.

The Astros swept the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS, taking the last game 11-3 at Progressive Field on Monday. On Tuesday, the Sox finished off the New York Yankees, and punched their ticket to the ALCS too.

Astros fans have already bought up the tickets for game three of the ALCS, selling out in under five minutes. Game one of the ALCS begins on Saturday at 7:09 PM CT, and will be televised on TBS. Justin Verlander will take the mound for the Astros against the Sox Chris Sale.

The Texans have one two in a row for the first time since 2016. Both of those wins were heart stopping overtime victories against two of the most despised teams in Texans fandom: The Indianapolis Colts and the Dallas Cowboys.

The latest victory pitted the Texans against the Cowboys, and featured Deshaun Watson’s thrashing by the Cowboys defense, that left the young quarterback questionable for the Sunday game against the 2-3 Buffalo Bills.

The Texans hold a 2-3 record and find themselves in second place in the AFC South behind the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Right now there is a question of whether Watson will be able to play against the Bills, as a result of all his bruises and bumps. With four more games until the Texans November bye week, there’s a real chance that Watson misses at least one game, unless the offensive line decides to protect him this season.

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Image: The Houston Astros celebrate defeating the Cleveland Indians 11-3 in Game Three of the American League Division Series to advance to the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field on October 8, 2018, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

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