Elvis Andrus of the Oakland A’s gets into the hitting act with a two run RBI single in the top of the seventh inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Field in Houston on Fri Jul 15, 2022 (AP News photo)

A’s Beat Astros 5-1; Oakland takes first game of series in Houston

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Oakland A’s (31-60) took on the Houston Astros (58-31) in Game One of their three game series. Cole Irvin took the mound for Oakland and would be facing one of the toughest lineups in baseball.

Houston would be first up on the board in the fifth inning when Chas McCormick scored off a Jose Siri sacrifice for the early 1-0 lead. That would be the first and last score for Houston.

The A’s got going in the seventh inning scoring three times and never looking back. Seth Brown and Chad Pinder both scored when Elvis Andrus singled to right center. A Skye Bolt single brought Andrus home and the A’s had taken a 3-1 lead.

Bolt was not finished and in the ninth inning he hit one out of the park and with Tony Kemp on base Oakland took a 5-1 lead which would prove to be the final.

It was a great outing for Cole Irvin who went six linnings. He had four strikeouts, three hits and one run. Lou Trivino would close out the game and the A’s had beaten one of the best teams in MLB.

The Astros had trouble getting much offense in this game. They were missing Yordon Alvarez, Michael Brantley and Jose Altuve which was a big loss for the team.

Oakland will take on the Astros in game two Saturday. Jared Koenig (1-2) will take the mound for Oakland with a 6.38 ERA. Justin Verlander will get the nod for Houston with a terrific 11-3 win loss record and a 2.00 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM PT.