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Tucker’s Pinch HR Lifts Astros Over Texas in Starters’ Duel

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Tucker’s Pinch HR Lifts Astros Over Texas in Starters’ Duel


By STEPHEN HAWKINS, AP Baseball Author

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Justin Verlander definitely seen that Astros batters had been being retired one after one other. The 2-time AL Cy Younger Award winner was fairly spectacular himself in solely his fourth begin since Tommy John surgical procedure.

Kyle Tucker hit a tiebreaking pinch-hit homer within the eighth inning, offering the margin of victory for Verlander, and Houston beat Texas 3-2 on Thursday after Rangers left-hander Martin Perez took an ideal recreation into the seventh.

“They’re attention-grabbing whenever you’re in the course of them. I imply, clearly all the time root for runs, however then swiftly you notice, three or 4 or 5 innings, I am like, you already know, he is received it,” Verlander mentioned. “So type of knew we’d be in the course of a pitching duel there. … It was enjoyable to come back out on the fitting facet of it.”

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Tucker’s two-run blast got here off Matt Bush (0-1), the primary reliever for Texas after Perez retired the primary 18 batters earlier than giving up his solely run and two hits within the seventh. Perez struck out 4 with out a stroll, with 55 of 76 pitches being strikes.

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Verlander (2-1) struck out eight, additionally permitting one run over seven innings. The 39-year-old right-hander, who retired 18 of the primary 19 Texas batters, threw 64 of 91 pitches for strikes and did not have a stroll whereas decreasing his season ERA to 1.73.

“He was dealing, and he had been matched by their pitcher, too. He was dealing, each of them,” Astros supervisor Dusty Baker mentioned, including that Verlander’s curveball and slider had been working nicely along with his always-good fastball. “That was a traditional pitcher’s duel. In case you took a pitch, it was a strike, and if you happen to swung at it, it wasn’t a very good pitch to hit.”

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Blake Taylor pitched an ideal eighth for the Astros. Rafael Montero then labored the ninth with normal nearer Ryan Pressly nonetheless on the injured record and received his first save regardless of Corey Seager’s one-out homer to straightaway heart.

Perez did not enable a runner till Chas McCormick lined a double into the right-center hole on a full-count pitch main off the seventh. The lefty received out two extra batters out earlier than Yordan Alvarez lined an opposite-field single to left to drive in McCormick.

“That was nearly as good as I’ve seen a man throw. He stored executing and executing,” Texas supervisor Chris Woodward mentioned. “I assumed he was going to throw an ideal recreation, frankly. He had the pitch rely to do it. The whole lot was proper there for him. McCormick simply hit a fairly good pitch there. … Clearly the man on the opposite facet is fairly good, has a fairly good observe document.”

Earlier than McCormick’s double, the closest the Astros had gotten to successful was when Jose Siri had a one-out comebacker within the sixth that ricocheted off the pitcher. Perez scrambled off the mound and made a powerful throw to first for a bang-bang play that was dominated out — and stood after a replay problem by Houston.

Texas received even at 1 within the backside of the seventh, when Adolis Garcia had a sacrifice fly to heart after the Rangers loaded the bases with three consecutive one-out singles off Verlander. That included a checked swing from Mitch Garver that become a groundball hit in opposition to a shifted infield.

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“I really feel good. We’ve finished a very good job speaking and permitting myself, particularly with the brief spring coaching, to type of construct my pitch county, type of slowly enable myself time to get well in between begins,” Verlander mentioned. “It’s probably the most I’ve thrown thus far, so hopefully simply type of maintain constructing on it.”

Perez was the primary Rangers pitcher to retire the primary 18 batters in a recreation since Mike Minor in opposition to San Diego on June 27, 2018. He was the second MLB pitcher to try this this season. Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw retired all 21 batters he confronted at Minnesota on April 13 earlier than being pulled from his first begin of the season after 13 strikeouts and 80 pitches. … The one Rangers hit, and their solely baserunner, earlier than the seventh was No. 9 hitter Andy Ibanez with a pointy single up the center within the third.

Astros: 2B Jose Altuve (strained hamstring) is scheduled to play rehab video games for Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday and Saturday and could possibly be activated from the injured record when Houston returns house Monday to begin a sequence in opposition to Seattle. Altuve has been on the IL since April 19 and will have been activated as early as Friday. Normal supervisor James Click on says Altuve wished to play a few video games to get his timing again earlier than rejoining the Astros lineup.

Rangers: Catcher Jonah Heim was placed on the paternity record after the beginning Thursday morning of his second little one, a daughter born simply earlier than 8 a.m.

Astros: Jose Urquidy (1-1, 3.15 ERA) is the the scheduled starter when Houston opens a three-game sequence Friday evening in Toronto.

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Rangers: After dropping three of 4 to the defending American League champions, the Rangers open a three-game weekend sequence Friday in opposition to the reigning World Collection champion Atlanta Braves.

Extra AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Copyright 2022 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials is probably not printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.





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Ex Texas Longhorns 5-Star Johntay Cook Announces Transfer Commitment

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Ex Texas Longhorns 5-Star Johntay Cook Announces Transfer Commitment


Former Texas Longhorns wide receiver Johntay Cook has found his next home.

And it is with a familiar foe.

According to reports from On3’s Hayes Fawcett, Cook has committed to the Washington Huskies, picking the Big Ten team over pursuit from Florida.

The Longhorns, of course, fell to the Huskies in the 2023 College Football Playoff semi-finals, coming up just short of a national title appearance as a result.

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The 5-foot-11, 175-pound speedster had originally been predicted to stay in the SEC and sign with the Florida Gators. That said, with the Huskies, he should have a tremendous opportunity to be the No. 1 receiver in the program.

Texas Longhorns receiver Johntay Cook II (1) makes a touchdown catch over UTSA safety Elijah Newell

Texas Longhorns receiver Johntay Cook II (1) makes a touchdown catch over UTSA safety Elijah Newell (22) during the game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cook II, a five-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, had just eight catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns this season. He had three catches for 35 yards and two scores in the win over UTSA on Sept. 14.

There was an expectation entering the 2024 season that Cook II would see an increased role after minimal usage as a freshman but has instead become buried on a depth chart that features Isaiah Bond, Matthew Golden, DeAndre Moore Jr., Silas Bolden, and true freshman standout Ryan Wingo.

Cook ranked as the No. 31 player in the nation, No. 3 wide receiver and No. 5 player in the state of Texas for his class. As a transfer, he ranks as the No. 44 player available in the portal and the No. 14 wide receiver.

Cook ends his Longhorns career with just 16 catches for 273 yards and two touchdowns across two seasons.

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Other Texas Longhorns News:

MORE: Arizona State’s ‘Stud’ RB Cam Skattebo Has Attention of Texas Longhorns’ Defense

MORE: Texas Ex’s Could Play Big Role For Arizona State in Peach Bowl vs. Longhorns

MORE: Texas’ Steve Sarkisian Named Finalist for George Munger College Coach of the Year

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MORE: Texas Longhorns in Contention for Two Top 2026 Recruits

MORE: Urban Meyer Believes Texas Longhorns Beat Arizona State For One Reason



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Marshall takes on Texas State, seeks 5th straight home win

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Marshall takes on Texas State, seeks 5th straight home win


Associated Press

Texas State Bobcats (6-4) at Marshall Thundering Herd (5-6)

Huntington, West Virginia; Sunday, 1 p.m. EST

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BOTTOM LINE: Marshall will try to keep its four-game home win streak intact when the Thundering Herd face Texas State.

The Thundering Herd have gone 4-2 at home. Marshall ranks ninth in the Sun Belt in team defense, giving up 66.7 points while holding opponents to 39.3% shooting.

The Bobcats are 4-1 on the road. Texas State has a 1-0 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

Marshall averages 71.8 points, 6.1 more per game than the 65.7 Texas State gives up. Texas State averages 3.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.6 fewer makes per game than Marshall allows.

The matchup Sunday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.

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TOP PERFORMERS: Aislynn Hayes is averaging 17.7 points for the Thundering Herd.

Jaylin Foster is scoring 10.0 points per game and averaging 7.1 rebounds for the Bobcats.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Court orders Biden admin to stop selling border wall materials, was 'illegally subverting' laws: Texas AG

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Court orders Biden admin to stop selling border wall materials, was 'illegally subverting' laws: Texas AG


The Biden administration on Friday said it would stop selling off materials slated to be used to build a border wall ahead of the incoming Trump administration, which has promised to bring back tougher efforts to combat illegal immigration.

The Biden administration confirmed to a court that it will agree to a court order preventing it from disposing of any further border wall materials over the next 30 days, allowing President-elect Trump to use those materials, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. 

The Biden administration has been auctioning off border wall parts since at least 2023, with parts listed for sale on auction marketplaces, after it abruptly shut down most border wall construction in 2021.

GOP SENATOR MOVES TO BLOCK FEDS FROM DISPOSING OF BORDER WALL MATERIALS AMID AUCTION BACKLASH 

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Piles of unused border fence sit at one of the border wall construction staging areas on the Johnson Ranch near Columbus, N.M., on Monday, April 12, 2021.  (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump then urged the Biden Administration to stop. Fox News Digital has reached out to Trump’s representatives. 

“We have successfully blocked the Biden Administration from disposing of any further border wall materials before President Trump takes office,” Paxton said. 

“This follows our major victory forcing Biden to build the wall, and we will hold his Administration accountable for illegally subverting our Nation’s border security until their very last day in power, especially where their actions are clearly motivated by a desire to thwart President-elect Trump’s immigration agenda,” he added. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

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Paxton presser

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at a news conference in Dallas on June 22, 2017.  (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

In a news release, Paxton’s office said that if the Biden administration disposes of border wall materials purchased with funds subject to an injunction in violation of a court order, “it would constitute unethical and sanctionable conduct and officials could be held in contempt of court.”

Texas has said it intends to do all it can to help the incoming administration build the wall at the southern border when Trump enters office.

The Biden administration abruptly ended border wall construction in January 2021 after 450 miles had been built in the first Trump administration. While border hawks say a wall is a critical tool to stopping illegal immigration, some Democrats have said a wall project is xenophobic and ineffective.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT REPUBLICANS INVESTIGATING BIDEN ADMIN’S SALE OF BORDER WALL PARTS: ‘WASTE AND ABUSE’ 

Trump at a part of the border wall

President Donald Trump tours a section of the border wall, Tuesday, June 23, 2020, in San Luis, Ariz. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The auctioning off of border wall parts began in 2023 with parts listed for sale on GovPlanet.com, an online auction marketplace. The Defense Department’s logistics agency told media outlets that the excess material had been turned over for disposition by the Army Corps of Engineers and was now for sale.

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Those auctions have continued, with officials in Arizona telling Fox News Digital that auctions have been occurring weekly for some time. The practice drew attention last week when The Daily Wire published video showing unused wall parts being transported on flatbed trucks in Arizona, even though the materials could be used in the next Trump administration. 

Trump previously called Biden’s efforts to sell unused border wall materials at a discounted rate “almost a criminal act.”

Trump said the auctions would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to re-purchase the large steel bollards and concrete. He called on President Biden to “please stop selling the wall” and suggested his team would obtain a restraining order to halt the sales.

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“What they’re doing is really an act, it’s almost a criminal act,” he said. “They know we’re going to use it and if we don’t have it, we’re going to have to rebuild it, and it’ll cost double what it cost years ago, and that’s hundreds of millions of dollars because you’re talking about a lot of, a lot of wall.”

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Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw, Brooke Singman and Peter Pinedo contributed to this report. 



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