By Morris Phillips

Talk about a full day’s work. The A’s beat the AL West-leading Astros and had to confront a bunch of their demons in the process.

After dropping the first two games of the series, and 12 of 14 this season, and 35 of 52 over the last three seasons to the Astros, the A’s had seen enough. And that disgust showed in the A’s focused, determined effort on Sunday.

The two biggest issues–anemic offense and bullpen failures–against Houston got the most attention. The A’s got plenty of help with their offense by way of the Astros’ sloppy defensive play which contributed two runs in the first on a pair of throwing errors that allowed Marcus Semien to circle the bases with Boog Powell scoring ahead of him.

Emboldened by a 2-0 lead, starter Jharel Cotton posted his best outing since late June, pitching into the seventh inning, allowing just four hits and two runs. Only Marwin Gonzales’ solo shot in the seventh showed Cotton off his game, as he worked effectively primarily with his fastball and changeup.

All of the good fortune through seven innings gifted the A’s a 3-2 lead, which–from the Astros perspective–had the visitors right where they wanted them.

In the last three years, dating back to August 2014, the A’s have blown 15 saves in games against the Astros, far too much heartbreak for one team to inflict on another. No Oakland reliever has gone unscathed in that period, bringing us to Sunday, with Chris Hatcher and Blake Trienen getting their first significant roles versus the American League’s best team.