Oakland A’s outfielders Tony Kemp (5) and JJ Bleday (33) watch the trajectory of the baseball as it sails over the fence hit by the Houston Astros Alex Bergman in the top of the third inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Fri Jul 21, 2023 (AP News photo)

Houston (55-43). 102 020 100. – 6. 9. 0

Oakland (27-72) 001 030 000 – 4 7. 0

Time: 2:40

Attendance: 6,810

Friday, July 21, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Brent Rooker, the Oakland Athletic’s (27-73) nominal all star, was a late scratch from the starting lineup due to illness. This required a massive change in the batting order, but Seth Brown, batting eighth and in right field, was the only player added to the original list, giving the A’s one less right handed hitter and one more lefty to face Houston Astros (55-43) southpaw starter, Framber Valdéz (7-6, 2.76 at game time). There are no switch hitters on the A’s’ current active roster.

Valdéz, who left his previous start, on the 15th in Anaheim, with a cramp in his left calf, has been Houston’s opening day starter for the last two years and threw a complete game shutout against the A’s on May 21, wasn’t in shutout shape tonight.

Valdez pitched well enough for four frames, but fell apart in the fifth. In all, he went five innings and gave up four runs, all earned, on six hits and two walks, striking out four and walking two and hitting one batter. He got the win beating the A’s 6-4 and went back to the team’s hotel at 8-6, 2.94.

The A’s also sent a lefty to the mound, JP Sears (1-6, 3.99 as of the first pitch). Opposing right handed batters had been batting .199 with an OPS of .687 against him, while lefties had gone .193, .768. Yet Houston skipper Dusty Baker had put eight right handed batsmen in his starting lineup.

The lone lefty was Kyle Tucker. There weren’t any more because there’s only one other left handed position player on the team, and he joined it on June 23 and has hit .130 since then. Sears wasn’t sharp tonight, and Tucker led the attack against him.

But the lefty held on for 5-2/3 frames, in which he threw 95 pitches, 62 for strikes. He allowed five runs, all earned, and left a runner on first when he exited the game. He logged only one strikeout but issued only one walk. He took the loss; his balance sheet now reads 1-7, 4.19.

The Astros lost no time in taking the lead. Sears retired the first two batters he faced, needing only five pitches to do so. Then Tucker launched Sears’ sixth offering over the right center field fence, 406 feet deep, for his 15th home run and 65th RBI of the season It came off a 94.8 mph four seamer and left Tucker’s bat at 106.2 mph.

Tony Kemp, moved up from the number six slot in the lineup shakeup, led off the home first with a leg double to center, and The Curse of the Leadoff Double took its toll, with Kemp dying on third.

The much booed Alex Bregman ended an 1-1 pitch at bat in the top of the third with his 15th homer of ’23, a two run blast 392 feet to left center. It turned an 85.4 change up into a 3-0 lead for the visitors.

The green and gold narrowed that to 3-1 in the bottom of the third. With two down, Valdéz plunked Kemp, the only Athletic who had reached base safely at that point. Zach Gelof followed with a walk, and Jordán Díaz laced an RBI single to left.

Tucker struck again in the fifth. With one away and a man onboard, the Astros’ right fielder hit his second round tripper of the evening and 16th of the year, sending the spheroid 396 feet deep, this time to right center. The score now was 5-1, Astros, and Tucker had driven in three of Houston’s five runs.

The A’s offense came alive in the bottom of that inning. Nick Allen, Kemp, and Gelof got three straight singles to load the bases with no one out. Jordan Díaz drew an RBI walk, Aledmys Díaz hit a sacrifice fly to center that plated Kemp and advanced Gelof to third. Then Bleday’s 3-1 groundout brought Gelof home, and Oakland was back in the game, trailing by only one run, 5-4.

Taylor Scott relieved Sears after he’d walked David Hensley with two out in the top of the sixth. Scott struck Martín Maldonado looking to end the inning.

Phil Maton was on the mound for Houston when the bottom of the sixth began. Cody Thomas, pinch hitting for Bleday greeted him with a double to right. After Brown popped out, a wild pitch allowed Thomas to reach third. But, like Kemp in the first, he was stranded there. The Curse strikes again.

Tucker had the righty-lefty equation in his favor when he faced Scott in the top of the seventh and turned it to his advantage with his third dinger of the game and number 17 of the season, a two out solo shot to right that extended the Astros lead to 6-4.

Rafael Montero, who’s been struggling recently preserved that margin in the bottom of the seventh, retiring the side in order.

Austin Pruitt did the same to the ‘stros in the top of the eighth, in spite of a two out warning track shot to center by Corey Julks.

It was Héctor Neris’s turn to face the A’s in the bottom of the ninth. He walked Bleday and Langeliers to open the episode, but an infield fly to the catcher, Maldonado, and a pitcher’s best friend on Brown’s grounder to second put the threat to rest.

Pruitt had no trouble achieving a 1-2-3 top of the ninth.

When Ryan Pressly went to the mound in the bottom of the ninth, he was looking for his 100th career save. He got it, his 23rd of the year

The loss lowered Oakland’s record to 27-73, .270. Kansas City lost to the Yankees, 5-4, in the Bronx this afternoon. The Royals now are 28-71, .283.

July 21, 1899 found the Cleveland Spiders in the Nation’s Capital, where they split a doubleheader with the Senators. Both games ended in a score of 5-3, and what was until this year the losingest team in major league baseball history escaped town with a record of 15-68, .217.

On this date in baseball infamy, the Cincinnati Reds stepped right up and beat the Mets, 5-3, in a day game at Crosley Field. The defeat left the dazed Amanzin’s at 24-68, .261

Saturday evening’s game between the A’s and the Astros is scheduled to start at 6:07 and will be the third of the current four game series between the two. Houston’s Christian Javier (7-1, 4.39) will face Oakland’s Paul Blackburn (1-2, 5.48) in a battle of right handers.