Offense comes together in win as magic number is cut to one
ARLINGTON — The Astros awoke on Thursday. They punished an opposing ace with a power surge absent during this dismal offensive month. At long last, the homegrown trio atop the batting order appeared all in sync and swinging with authority in a 12-4 win over the Rangers — a must if they plan to return to this stadium next month.
Globe Life Field will host the World Series beginning Oct. 20. It’s a beautiful newballpark with a spacious outfield and fast turf. The Rangers opened the roof thursday. At Minutemaid Park, players often complain that outdoor elements affect the baseball’s carry.
Nothing could hinder Houston’s approach on Thursday. Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, George Springer and Josh Reddick finished with three hits apiece. The Astros totaled 15 hits — their most since Aug. 19. The 12 runs matched their total from the past four games combined.
“All the guys that were struggling, some had big nights,” manager Dusty Baker said. “It was big to breakout like that and to keep scoring. This is one of the few nights where we kept scoring. We kept scoring.”
This resembled the team that could contend for a spot in the World Series, a realistic aspiration before the season but a far-fetched hope now. The Rangers are the worst team in the American League. But the Astros did to them what an elite team must — deliver a beating in every imaginable way.
Houston had scored 25 runs in its previous 10 games. Its September batting averagewas .220. Struggling superstars brought down their batting order and frustrated fans. After a 3-2 loss onwednesday, Bregman proclaimed that everyone on the team was “one swing away.”
Twenty or so hours later, Bregman finished a single shy of the cycle. He entered the game 8-for-45 since coming off the injured list and without a home run since Aug. 11.
“I think that’s what we should be doing,” Bregman said of the performance. “We’re very good offense, and I thought we could have felt sorry for ourselves after getting in at 3 a.m. after a tough series in Seattle, but that would have been the easy thing to do.”
Springer destroyed a three-run home run to dead center field in the second. In the sixth, Altuve added his first home run since Aug. 22 — a 33-game span that produced serious doubt whether Altuve or the Astros could turn around their anemic offense.
Thursday offered the most encouraging sign yet for a revival. The lineup annihilated Rangers starter Lance Lynn. Altuve, Bregman and Springer all hit home runs off Lynn, the Rangers’ burly, bearded righthanded ace. It was the first time since June 20, 2018, that all three men homered in the same game.
Altuve finished 3-for-5 and a triple shy of the cycle.
“It’s a long time coming,” said Springer, who raised his OPS to .897. “I think his swing actually looks great. He’s hit the ball hard a lot, but doesn’t have a lot to show for it. He’s our guy. He’s our leader. He’s been extremely positive and upbeat all year. Toseehimhave this night … it was awesome.”
Lynn took the mound on Thursday with a 2.53 ERA. When he finally left, it was 3.32. Only two other American League starters had lowereras before the game. During seven home starts, Lynn had a 0.98 WHIP. Opponents had scored only 10 runs against him inside Globe Life Field.
After two innings, the Astros had hung five runs on Lynn. Texas’ defense did not help its ace, but the Astros nonetheless produced some of their most encouraging atbats of this otherwise awful month. Houston struck 12 hits against Lynn in 52⁄ innings.
3 Six garnered extra bases.
Lynn allowed the leadoff man to reach in four of his six innings. He struck out Springer to start the game and raced ahead of Altuve 1-2.
Altuve’s found himself behind a lot lately. His routine does not change. The sixtime All-star steps from the batter’s box, readjusts his batting gloves, draws a deep breath and re-enters.
When he did, Altuve appeared a different player. Gone was the chasing of pitches or lost timing. Lynn challenged him with his entire fastball-heavy arsenal — four-seamer, cutter, sinker. Altuve spoiled thebest pitches and watched theworst fly by. He fouled five two-strike pitches. At one point, it was four in a row.
On the 11th pitch of the plateappearance, Lynnleft a cutter in the middle of the plate. Altuve lifted it to shallow right field for a single. The dugout applauded their second baseman’s tenacity, a trait sometimes absent during this slump.
“It sets an ‘I’m here to battle’ tone,” Bregmansaid.“he stepped in there and put together an unbelievable atbat against one of the best pitchers in baseball.
“When you battle and set the tone like that at the topof the order, we’re going to follow that up.”
Altuve stood at first when Bregman arrived. He watched four pitches before delivering his one swing — that one swing he mentioned a night earlier. Lynn fired a four-seam fastball. Bregman demolished it into left center field. He scurried to third for a triple. Altuve scored standing up. The rout was on.
“It’s better late than never,” Baker said.
FISHING REPORT FRESHWATER
BASTROP: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 84 degrees. Largemouth bass are good fishing creeks ledges and submerged timber on bladed jigs, crankbaits, craws, and drop shots. Crappie are good on minnows in brush piles and standing timber in 14-25’. Channel and blue catfish are good on cut bait and live bait.
BELTON: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 82 degrees; 0.47’ high. Black bass are fair near flats, drop-offs, brush, and timber on spinners, crankbaits, and Carolina rigged plastic worms. White bass are good on the main lake flats, humps, and drop-offs with slabs in 18-35’. Hybrid stripers are good with live bait in the main lake from 22-35’. Topwater plugs, crankbaits, and swimbaits are effective with surfacing schools of hybrids and white bass. Crappie are good on minnows in brush piles in 15-28’. Catfish are good on cut bait and punch bait.
BRAUNIG: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 82 degrees. Red drum are slowing, but still plenty of fish to be had. There is still some bird activity to guide you without much surface activity. Largemouth bass are fair to good along the riprap with crankbaits andworms, aswell as using topwater near vegetation edges. Stripers are fair mid-lake and off the southern deep points. Catfish are good on live bait, cut bait and cheese bait.
BROWNWOOD: FAIR. Water lightly stained; 83 degrees; 1.37’ low. Largemouth bass are slow with crankbaits, jigs, and Carolina rigged plastic worms in 15-25’ near drop-offs and standing timber. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. White bass and hybrids are fair on live bait and slabs in the main lake near humps, drop-offs, and flats. Catfish are good on punch bait and live bait in 10-20’ near baited areas.
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 83-86 degrees; 2.53’ low. Largemouth bass are fair with finesse worms, black/blue skirted jigs, and medium-sized crankbaits working along flats, secondary points, rock ledges, and the drop-offs. Striped bass are fair along the river channel with live bait and trolling in 25-35’. White bass are good on slabs and jigging spoons when fishing deeper water in the main lake off points, drop-offs and flats. Use sonar to locate schools of baitfish and feeding fish. Crappie are good on minnows in 16-28’ fishing timber and brush piles. Channel catfish have been good on punch bait.
CALAVERAS: GOOD. Water stained; 83-84 degrees. Red drum are fair with live bait only right now. Black bass are good along the rocks of the dam with crankbait. The standing vegetation has picked up with topwater, jigs, and worms. Hybrid striped bass are good following the baitfish in deeper water. Catfish are good on stinkbait, chicken livers, and cut shad.
CANYON LAKE: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 85 degrees; 3.18’ low. Striper fishing is good on main lake humps, drop-offs, and river channel with live bait or jigging vertically. White bass are good on flats and drop-offs with slabs and jigging spoons. Look for birds diving over feeding schools. Largemouth bass are fair with diving crankbaits, shaky heads, and Texas- rigged worms or craws near docks, timber, and steep drop-offs. Smallmouth bass are good on grubs and small cranks in 12-17’ along rock ledges and steep rocky shorelines. Catfish are good with prepared baits and cut bait. Crappie are fair with live minnows over submerged brush piles and timber.
CHOKE CANYON: FAIR. Water lightly stained; 84-86 degrees; 20.67’ low. Largemouth bass are improving to good as theymove just a bit shallower for longer periods of the day. Topwater, crankbait, and worms with a 6“leader have continued the success on points, humps, rip rap, and some deeper creek structure with some deep covered spots in the afternoons. White bass remain fair, flashing small spinners and spoons off points. Crappie are good still in northern structures feeding more aggressively than last week. Catfish are fair with live bait and cheese bait.
FALCON: FAIR. Water lightly stained north and clear south; 84 degrees; 37.39’ low. It’s been raining in the afternoons. The lake is up 3 inches this week, and lake activity has been slow. Black bass are fair with deeper structure still performing better than shallow. Texas-rigged big worms have been as good as any, fished on the rock or in the brush piles. Deeper still seems to be a better choice, especially for the bigger fish. There are still some shallow fish, as there always are, on the points and rocky edges. The white bass are still everywhere, and crappie are good in the brush piles. All sizes of crappie are being caught, including a bunch of 8-to-10-inchers. Looks good for the future. Catfish are always biting, and the influx of a little muddywater seems to turn them on. Remember to stay on the Texas side unless you possess a Mexican fishing license.
GRANGER: GOOD. Water lightly stained; 84 degrees; 1.10’ low. Black bass are fair on blue or black spinnerbaits, Texas-rigged plasticworms, and silver crankbaits near rock banks, deeper creek channels, and stumps. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs on brush piles in 16-26’. White bass are fair on slabs in 20-30’ near main lake humps and drop-offs’. Catfish are good on cut shad, earthworms, and punch baits. Yellow cats are fair on live perch.
LBJ: FAIR. Water lightly stained; 81 degrees; 0.77’ low. Black bass are slow on with plastic worms, jigs and silver spoons. Crappie are slow on minnows around brush piles and docks with minnows or jigs. White bass are fair over main lake points and humps in 20-35’ with slabs and jigging spoons. Catfish are good on punch bait in 15-25’.
STILLHOUSE HOLLOW: GOOD. Water stained; 82-85 degrees; 3.26’ high. Black bass are good on jigs, white jigs, Texas-rigged soft plastic craws working brush piles, rock bluffs, and submerged timber. Smallmouth bass are good with small plastic grubs and small crankbaits near rocky banks, ledges, and drop-offs. Crappie are good on minnows in brush piles and standing timber in 14-28’. White bass are fair on slabs and jigs off main lake points, humps, drop-offs, and along the dam. Catfish are good with punch bait. Blue cats are good with live bait near brush piles.
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 83 degrees; 18.59’ low. Largemouth bass are good with crankbaits, skirted jigs and spinners near boat docks and marinas, rock ledges, and drop-offs. White bass are fair with swim jigs and slabs working main lake points, drop-offs and humps. Striper action along the main river channel is fair with live bait and heavy spoons with schools moving frequently with the bait. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows in15-25’ near docks, marinas, and deeper rock ledges. Catfish are good on live bait and prepared baits in 15-25’.
GOOD. Water lightly stained; 83 degrees. Largemouth bass are good on finesseworms, crankbaits, and jigs in timber, humps, and drop-offs. Hybrid striper are good with live shad or trolling. Crappie are good on minnows in 14-24’ near brush piles or standing timber. Catfish are good on cut bait and prepared bait. Sunfish are good on worms and crickets.
SALTWATER
GOOD. 90-91 degrees. Speckled trout have been in the deeper water around 5-7’. Redfish are schooling and feeding behind large groups of mullet. Black drum are best around vegetation. Topwater action is still best early in the morning for speckled trout and redfish.
GOOD. 85 degrees. Speckled trout and redfish are good around Laguna Madre on croaker or shrimp. Flounder is good around the rocks and on the backside of the island. Black drum are good in the deep water transitions or vegetation on blue crab or crankbaits. Keep your eye out on the approaching Tropical Storm Beta. EAST MATAGORDA BAY: GOOD. 86 degrees. Wading the mid-bay reefs for redfish is great using live shrimp or croaker. Speckled trout are great around Brown Cedar Flats using the same baits.
GOOD. 87-88 degrees. Spoons and topwater and rattle traps have produced very well. The piers have been great for all species. North jetty or redfish bay has been great for redfish and speckled trout on shrimp or mullet. Black drum are good on crab or crankbaits around deep structure or vegetation.
GOOD. 85 degrees. As September comes to a close, the redfish are starting to bunch up to attack the shrimp along the edges of the grass. The lower Laguna Madre is a tried and true spot with plenty of shallow sand flats. Speckled trout will be in the shallow water near vegetation in the very early morning hours and are best on shrimp under a popping cork. Sheepshead are good on minnow around the rocks. Flounder will be in the back marsh feasting around the drains. Black drum are right on blue crab around deep structure.
GOOD. 86-87 degrees. Trout and redfish have been OK with water levels up from the high tides, start closer to the shallows, and work out over the grass and potholes using topwater, Kwiggler willow tail in garlic, and shrimp under a popping cork. Both north and south of the east cut have been good.
GOOD. 86 degrees. Speckled trout and redfish are excellent on topwaters and shrimp. Black drum are good on crab around deep water and grass beds. Concentrate on flats that are close to deep water, throw topwaters in the morning. Flounder is good on live mullet around the rocks.
ROCKPORT: VERY GOOD. 84-85 degrees. Spoons and topwaters are still producing outstanding results. The shipping channels are still hot as well. Flounder are great around jetties and piers. Redfish and speckled trout are best on live shrimp or croaker if you aren’t getting results with spoons and topwaters.
SOUTH PADRE: GOOD. 82-83 degrees. The area just north of the Saucer has good numbers of reds and trout in the flats. They are great on shrimp. Black drum are in big numbers and will continue to form in stained waters, and trout will be more likely to hit artificials.
WEST MATAGORDA BAY: GOOD. 86 degrees. Large schools of redfish have been great along the north shoreline or around Crab Lake on live shrimp or mullet. Speckled trout have been great on soft plastics in the grass beds.