By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–Whatever got into the A’s last week on the road didn’t follow them back to Oakland.

Marwin Gonzales knocked in a pair of runs in the ninth, breaking a 2-2 tie, and the Astros went on to beat the A’s at the Coliseum, 4-2 on Monday night.  After scoring 65 runs on their just completed 6-1 road trip, the A’s metaphorically lost their luggage, offense in tow, managing just three hits in dropping their third straight at home.

The dramatic drop in offense at the Coliseum—the A’s are scoring a full run less at home than they are on the road—falls squarely in the team’s under-utilized tool box, a function of a young team trying to find their identity, optimally as closely aligned to the tenets of Moneyball as possible, but currently not aligned at all.  These young A’s don’t draw walks, don’t hit particularly well deep in counts, and they don’t excite their home crowd with the necessary offense to win games.

Nonetheless, they’re showing signs.  Rookies Ryon Healy and Bruce Maxwell both homered on Monday with Maxwell’s his first as big leaguer.  Healy’s seemingly gotten all his firsts out of the way, hitting .381 after his home run Monday, the highest batting average of any American Leaguer in the month of September to date.  Second baseman Joey Wendle hit .375 on the just completed road trip.  And Khris Davis, no true youngster at 28 and completing his third full season at the big league level, has hit 40 home runs for the first time in his career.

But Davis needs work: improved defense, and a need to figure out what those Houston scouting reports say about him.  Of his 40 homers, only one has come against the Astros, and he’s hitting just .129 against the division rival after his 0 for 4 on Monday.

On the mound, rookie Jharel Cotton provided more hope for the A’s future on Monday.  Cotton’s third big league start was much like the first two: eye-opening and impressive.  With manager Bob Melvin closely monitoring his workload, Cotton went six innings, allowing two hits and a walk.  The 24-year old acquired in the Josh Reddick trade had the Astros flailing and frustrated due to his trademark cutter and 12-6 curveball.

“He’s locating all his pitches, his changeup in any count, and his curveball was probably better today than we’ve seen it,” Melvin said.  “He pitched great.”

But Cotton wasn’t around when the game was decided, Ryan Madson was, and the reliever found out how difficult it is to navigate Houston’s two most dynamic hitters—Jose Altuve and Carlos Correia—with the game in the balance.

After tying the game in the eighth, the Astros struck again in the ninth with Altuve punching a Madson offering racing towards his hands into right field for a leadoff single.  Then Correia displayed his considerable experience hitting behind the AL’s top hitter, a guy who’s seemingly always on base, by punching a ball through an exaggerated hole created partially by Wendle breaking to second base as Altuve looked to steal.

That set up the Astros with runners on first and third, no outs.  Then Evan Gattis was walked to set up a force at home, according to Melvin, again a measure to combat Altuve and his speed.  Then Gonzales delivered the game-winner on the first pitch from Madson, which he sent straight up the middle against the A’s drawn-in infield.

Former Athletic Luke Gregerson picked up the win by working out his own jam in the eighth.  Gregerson, working deliberately as always, induced a ground ball out from Danny Valencia stranding pinch-runner Arismendy Alcantara at third.

Houston’s win kept them alive in a crowded AL Wild Card picture where they trail Baltimore and Toronto by three games, with the equally desperate Tigers and Yankees in between the Astros and one of the two spots held by the Orioles and Jays.

The A’s look to make a better statement in their final week at home of the season on Tuesday.  Sean Manaea will attempt to pick up his seventh win in a matchup with Houston’s Joe Musgrove.