by Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s 2015 train wreck  of a season continued Wednesday afternoon in Houston as they lost again to the Houston Astros by a score of 6-1. The A’s were trying to win the rubber game of the three-game series, but they had to face the Astro’s star left-handed hurler, Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel had not been charged with a loss so far this year and with the Astros’ win, his record improved to 6-0 and his ERA dropped to 1.67. The Astros are off to their best start in club history with a record of 27-14. The A’s, on the other hand, are a dismal 14-28. The A’s have won back-to-back games only once this year and that came against Houston on April 13th and 14th. Since that time, they have not been able to win more than one game in a row. It has been a pathetic performance. A’s General Manager, Billy Beane, has asked the fans to be patient as he feels the team can turn things around, but it’s going to be a tough sell. There are too many things going wrong for this club right now. They need improvement in all categories of play. They need better performances from the starting pitching, they need bullpen help as the bullpen is the arson squad. They need better fielding. A’s shortstop, Marcus Semien, made another throwing error and it was his 16th of the year. The A’s lead the Major Leagues in errors committed and does not show sign of improving at all. The A’s have not been able to get hits with runners in scoring position. They were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position in Wednesday’s game.

Jesse Hahn was on the mound for the A’s and he went six innings giving up 3 runs on 3 hits while walking 2 and striking out 6. Hahn took the loss and his record dropped to 1-4 and his ERA now stands at 4.43.  The big blow was a 2-run home run by Evan Gattis in the bottom of the 6th. The A’s had their chances but failed to cash in on the opportunities. In the fourth, they loaded the bases with one out. Mark Canh grounded into a force out at home and Craig Gentry grounded out into an inning-ending force out at second. In the 6th, the A’s had 2 on with 1 out but could score just one run on Chris Carter’s fielding error.  The Astros put the game away in the bottom of the eighth when they score three times to make it a 6-1 game.

The A’s will be in Tampa Bay for a four-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays. Jesse Chavez (1-3) will pitch for Oakland as they face the resurgent Rays. The Rays are in second place in the AL East with a record of 22-18 and are probably licking their chops knowing that the A’s are struggling. Reversal of fortunes for both teams this year.

Notes- The only bright note is that A’s third baseman, Brett Lawrie, went 3-for-4 in the game and raise his batting average to .280.  The line score for the A’s was one run on 7 hits and 1 error while Houston’s line was 6 runs on 10 hits and no errors. A’s reliever, Dan Otero pitched 1 and 1.3rd inning and allowed 3 hits and was charged with 3 runs, all earned.

Game time will be at 4:10pm from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.