Houston Astros runner Jose Altuve (27) slides in safely at home behind Oakland A’s catcher Sean Murphy (12) at the Oakland Coliseum Thu Apr 1, 2021 (AP News photo)

Houston. 8. 9. 2

Oakland. 1. 6. o

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Tonight’s opening game of the 2021 season offered several subtle contrasts.. The A’s started Chris Bassitt, 32 years old and at the peak of his career. Last year’s severely shortened season was the first he had spent from start to finish on a major league roster.

In his first four big league seasons, he went 4-14, 3.86. In 2019-20, however, he went a combined 15-7, 3.35, Last year those figures were 5-2, 2.29 , and he was, arguably, Oakland’s most reliable pitcher. He features, in declining order, a sinker, cutter, four seam fastball, change-up, curve, and slider. He looked sharp during this year’s spring training.

His thirty-seven year old opponent, Zack Greinke last faced the A’s in the Coliseum on September 8, 2020 , in the first of two seven inning games of a double header. The 18 year veteran pitched respectably but not particularly well. He gave up seven hits and four earned runs in six innings and was saddled with the 4-2 loss.

His 3-3, 4.03 record that year may have been a fluke, or it may be a sign that Houston’s formidable righty has started on the downward slide of his career. He throws fastballs, change-ups, sliders , change-up, and curves. He has been known to lob an occasional eephus pitch. Maybe he should have a chat with Jesús Luzardo. They could share a turkey sub.

This was the first game played in the Coliseum before a paying crowd since the A’s wild card play-in loss to Tampa Bay on October 2, 2019 before 54,005 fans. The limit for tonight’s attendance had been announced as 20% of capacity, but that was raised to 26% yesterday. The final gate tally for tonight was 10,436.

The face of the A’s had changed during the fans’ enforced absence from the Nimitz Palace. Gone, among others, are Khris Davis and Marcus Semien. The now-you-see-him, now-you-don’t Jed Lowie is back, and Elvis Andrus patrols the left side of the infield between him and Matt Chapman when they’re not in a shift.

Chapman and his fellow Gold Glover, Matt Olson, have played well this spring, and hopes are high that their 2020 fall-offs are a thing of the past. Another familiar face sporting the home whites was ex-Giant reliever Sergio Romo. The Athletics announced this morning that it had two promising pitchers, A.J. Puk and Daulton Jefferies, to the alternate site in Stockton and had placed to more pitchers, Mike Fiers and Trevor Rosenthal, who was expected to be the new closer, on the ten-day injured list, Fiers retroactively to March 29. Lefty hurler and one time Astro Reymin Guduan was promoted from Las Vegas to take up the slack. And, finally, the marvelously monikered Skye Bolt was DFA’d.

The closest thing to a threat that either team could muster in the first three innings came with two down in the home third when Andrus, batting ninth, lashed a rule book double over the low fence in left center field for Oakland’s first hit of the game and his first as an Athletic. He advanced to third on a wild pitch to Mark Canha and was standed when the A’s lead-off batter wiffed on a 73 mph curve ball.

The Astros immediately made Oakland regret its failure to seize the opporitunity. José Altuve opened the top of the fourth with a walk and advanced to third on Michael Brantley’s line drive double to right. Alex Bregman’s ground out to Chapman brought Altuve home with the game’s first tally.

A dramatic leaping catch of Kyle Tucker’s fly to right center by Chad Pinder saved a run and maybe more but didn’t prevent Altuve from moving over to third. The crowd cheered when Bassett plunked Carlos Correa with a 94 mph four seamer.

It cheered almost as much when Jordán Alvarez flew out to left to end the innning. One inning later, Pinder made another spectacular grab, robbing Altuve of an opposite field extra base hit with a horizontal flying catch of a a liner heading for the right field foul line.

With one out in the top of the sixth, Bregman hit a liner between Canha in left and Laureano in center, The speedy Laureano got to the ball, but it bounced off the heel of his glove for a double. After yielding a walk to Tucker, the A´s starter yielded the mound to Yusmeiro Petit, who got Correa out on a pop foul to catcher Sean Murphy but allowed both inherited runs to score on DH Jordán Alvarez´s two bagger to left.

Bassett left the game after throwing 68 pitches, 46 of them strikes, over 5-1/3 innings. He gave up four hits and was charged with all three Houston runs, and all of them were earned. He walked two, struck out three, and hit one batter. Petit threw 11 pitches, with five strikes. Lou Trevino replaced him after his two thirds of an inning stint.

Dusty Baker removed Greinke after six innings of work. His line was impressive, three hits, four strike outs, and a wild pitch. The rest, zeroes.

His replacement, Eoli Paredes, didn’t fare as well. Laureano led off the home seventh with a foul behind first base that Yuli Gourriel let drop for an at bat extending error. The A’s centerfielder took advantage of the miscue to blast a double to left, steal third, and score on Chapman’s sac fly to left. It took him 32 pitches to get out of the frame with only one, unearned, run charged to him.

Adam Kolarek was an off-season acquisition from the Dodgers. He took over for Trevino to start the eighth and promptly surrendered a home run to Brantley and then another to Bregman. A ground out, a walk, and a hit batter later, Kolarek was gone, giving way to J.B. Wendelkin, who stauched the flow.

The newly promoted Reymin Gudjuan suffered the indignity of pitching to Houston in its last half inning at the plate. Two of the three outs he achieved were sacrifice flies, which tells you something about his effectiveness. He gave up singles to Altuve and Correa, walks to Brantley and Bregman, and threw a wild pitch to Alvarez before he hit one of the sac flies. The win went to Greinke; the loss, to Bassett.