Houston Astros starter Lance McCullers was in a groove all game long against the Oakland A’s here he is dealing in the top of the first inning at Minute Maid Field in Houston Fri Aug 13, 2022 (AP News photo)

Astros Pound Athletics 8-0

By Barbara Mason

The Oakland A’s (41-73) had some great success against the Houston Astros (74-41) in July but that came to a screeching halt Saturday in game two of their series. Friday night Oakland had opportunities in game one but fell short 7-5. In today’s game the Astros took command from the first inning and they did not look back with some great offense and great pitching in a 8-0 shutout win. It was the A’s seventh consecutive loss.

It was a combination of hitting, a brilliant pitching performance by Lance McCullers Jr. and some great defense by Houston that shut the A’s out. McCullers finished with six shutout innings in his season debut his first appearance since the four game of the ALDS against the Chicago White Sox in October of 2021.

In the first inning Alex Bregman homered with Yordan Alvarez on base and Houston had a 2-0 lead to start the game.

The Astros struck again in the fourth inning when Chas McCormick tripled driving in Trey Mancini and Jeremy Pena and Houston was off to the races 4-0.

Houston hit a couple of doubles in the sixth inning extending their lead 6-0. The Astros had their second triple of the game in the seventh inning, a blistering shot to deep right by Kyle Tucker driving in Yuli Gurriel and Yordan Alvarez.

It a tough loss for the A’s; their seventh in a row. They only had five hits in the game and not a single Oakland player made it to third base in the game, in fact, only two runners got to second. They hit into three double plays and it was Houston all day long.

A’s pitcher Zach Logue went 5.1 innings and pitched over 100 pitches. He allowed eight hits and six runs. It was a tough loss for the 26 year old but it a great learning experience for him. More often than not things get worse before they get better for these up and coming youngsters.

Tomorrow the A’s will try and avoid the sweep sending Cole Irvin to the mound. He is pitching well with a 2.92 ERA and is 6-9. The A’s will face Houston’s Cristian Javier. He has a 6-8 win loss record and a 3.14 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 11:10 AM PT.