ASTROS SAY SO LONG TO MINUTE MAID (UNTIL THE PLAYOFFS BEGIN) ASTROS SAY SO LONG TO MINUTE MAID (UNTIL THE PLAYOFFS BEGIN)
FRIDAY OFFERS A FUN SLATE of high school sports for those not into football. District play continues to warm up in volleyball, while cross-country runners continue to push toward their respective district championships, and a pair of team tennis matchups will also garner attention. This also is the final week of Astros regular season home games, as the impending American League West champs finish their 2019 series against the Rangers before welcoming the Angels for the weekend. WEDNESDAY: Texas City High School will be hosting Fall League girls’ basketball at the TCHS Gym from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. Gerrit Cole (17-5, 2.62 ERA) is just eight strikeouts away from becoming only the third pitcher in Astros history to record 300 strikeouts in one season. He will have a chance to reach the milestone in the middle game of the series against the Rangers, who will start Kolby Allard (4-0, 4.34 ERA) when the teams meet at 7:10pm. AT&T Sportsnet Southwest will have the game live shortly after the conclusion of the pregame show that starts at 6:30pm. THURSDAY: See the football portion of OTF for the evening’s action. You won’t be disappointed. FRIDAY: The high school volleyball schedule begins at 4:30pm when Hitchcock plays host to East Bernard. Clear Creek at Alvin, Clear Springs at Clear Brook and Clear Falls at Dickinson each start their matches at 6:00pm, while Galveston Ball at Crosby, Friendswood at Galena Park, Baytown Lee at Santa Fe and Goose Creek Memorial at Texas City are each opening their tips at 6:30pm. The cross-country schedule will Clear Brook, Clear Creek, Santa Fe and Texas City among the participants at the Texan Invitational at Pasadena’s Strawberry Park starting at 8:30pm. Clear Falls, Clear Springs and Galveston Ball are among the teams at the League City Sportsplex. Two team tennis matches are on the slate, with Clear Creek at Dawson and Friendswood at Texas City each starting at 4:00pm. The Astros begin their final home series of the regular season when Zack Grienke (16-5, 2.95 ERA) takes the mound for Houston against Angels hurler Jaime Barria (4-9, 5.95 ERA). AT&T Sportsnet Southwest starts its pregame show at 6:30pm, with the first pitch coming at 7:10pm. SATURDAY: Wade Miley (14-5, 3.71 ERA) makes his final regular season start in front of the Minute Maid Park crowd as he takes on Patrick Sandoval (0-3, 4.91 ERA). It will be a 6:10pm start time, with AT&T Sportsnet Southwest beginning the action following the pregame show at 5:30pm.
CLEAR SPRINGS OUT TO PLAY GIANT KILLER AGAINST KATY
THREE AREA TEAMS (Galveston Ball, Santa Fe, Texas City) are off this week, but the football schedule is still filled with high school action between Thursday and Saturday. The best game will be outside the area as Clear Springs gets a shot to pull off a shocker against one of the nation’s elite teams. THURSDAY: Clear Falls (3-0), one of the area’s two undefeated teams (Galveston Ball) hosts Houston Bellaire in what will be the Knights’ final tune-up before District 24-6A play begins next week. The two teams kick things off at CCISD Veterans Memorial Stadium at 6:00pm. Houston gets the national spotlight for a second straight game when the Cougars visit Tulane at 7:00pm. The game will be televised live on ESPN. FRIDAY: The night of high school football starts at 6:30pm when Dickinson visits Katy Taylor. Clear Brook at C.E. King, Columbia at La Marque and Clear Creek at Tompkins each start at 7:00pm SATURDAY: Clear Springs completes its daunting non-district schedule when it travels to Legacy Stadium to take on state powerhouse Katy, which comes into the week ranked as the #14 team in the nation according to MaxPreps.com. Kickoff will be at 6:00pm. A big Saturday of college football kicks off with #8 Auburn visiting #17 Texas A&M at 2:30pm (KHOU 11). Prairie View is at Alcorn State in the Panthers’ SWAC opener (ESPN3) at 5:00pm. Houston Baptist opens Southland Conference play with a home date against Northwestern State at 6:00pm (ESPN3), the same time Baylor at Rice (CBS Sports Network) and Nicholls at Stephen F. Austin (ESPN+) get underway. Oklahoma State visits #12 Texas at 6:30pm (KTRK 13), followed by Lamar at Southeastern Louisiana at 7:00pm (ESPN+).
