Houston Astros’ Yainer Diaz (21) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a home run against the Oakland Athletics during the fifth inning  at the Oakland Coliseum on Sun Jul 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

Houston (56-44). 000 010 101. – 3. 5. 2

Oakland (28-74) 100 001 000 – 2 7. 0

Time: 2:36

Attendance: 11,231

Sunday, July 23, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Making a quick turnaround from last night’s upset 4-1 victory over the Astros, the Athletics sent rookie riight Luis Medina to the mound against the visitors from Texas. The home team lost, 3-2.

Medina, 3-7, 579 at game time, had been grand in his last start, which came on July 18 at the Coliseum, when he threw 5-2/3 shutout, three hit innings in a 3-0 win over. the Red Sox.

He kept the Astros at bay this afternoon, lasting five innings, in which he threw 93 pitches, 59 for strikes, and yielded just one run, which was earned and came on a homer, on two hits and three walks He struck out six and came away with a no decision that gave him a record of 3-7, 5.50.

The Astros went with Hunter Brown and his 6-7, 4.26 slate. He’d faced the Athletics a couple of times earlier in the season, both as a starter going 1-0, 2.08 with a WHIP of 0.77 against them. He got the win in the second start in which he went 5-1/3 frames and yielded four runs on eight hits.

He threw six strong innings In today’s contest, yielding two runs, both earned, on six hits, one of them out of the park, two walks,, and a hit batter while striking out four. He threw 88 pitches, 57 for strikes. Like Medina, he had to settle for a no decision, which left his season’s totals at 6-7, 4.19).

After Molina kept the ‘stros off the board in the top of the first, helped by a two out, two on marvelous diving catch of José Abreu’s sinking liner by Cody Thomas in right, JJ Belay sent a two out solo blast over the State Farm. advertisement in right center field for his eighth home run and 24th run batted in of the season. That put the A’s up, 1-0, practically from the get go.

Oakland loaded the bases with no one out in the home third after Jordán Díaz singled to right, Aledmys Díaz was hit by a pitch, and Tony Kemp reached base on an error by first baseman Bligh Madris. But the promising rookie Zack Gelof bounced into a 5-2-3 double play, and JJ Bleday flew out to left.

Yanier Díaz tied things up in the visitors’ half of the fifth, leading off with his 11th home run of ’23, a 398 foot shot to left center that came off an 82.9 mph slider.

Poor baserunning by Jordán Díaz fulfilled The Curse of the Leadoff Double when the A’s DH got caught in a brief rundown after trying to advance on a ground ball hit in front of him, but the Athletics pulled ahead in their next turn at bat. Bleday singled to center, stole second while Seth Brown was striking out, advanced to third on a throwing error by Houston catcher Díaz, and scored on Tyler Soderstrom’s two out single to center.

Sam Long relieved Medina to pitch a perfect top of the sixth for the A’s and was removed in favor of Tayler Scott when Madris led off the inning with a single to left center. It turned out to be an unfortunate decision.

Chas McCormick flew out to the warning track in center. Yanier Diaz, whose home run had tied the score, singled to left. Scott hit Peña with a pitch but recovered to fan Dubón but walked Julks to force in the tying run. That was it for Scott. It was Sam Moll to the rescue, getting Tucker out on a grounder to third.

Seth Martínez took over for Brown with a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh and retired the side in order.

Chad Smith replaced Moll when Grae Kessinger was announced to bat for Madris with one out and Abreu, who had walked, on first in the eighth. The righty on righty move worked; Kessinger fouled out to left, and McCormick bounced out, third to first.

Gelof greeted Hector Neris in the home eighth, lining a double to left on the reliever’s second offering. Bleday followed him with a walk. Seth Brown moved both of them up with a sacrifice bunt. They had to stay there on Thomas’s checked swing ground out, 1-3. Soderstrom then flew out to right. The Curse of the Leadoff Double strikes again!

In the top of the ninth with two out, ex-Giant Mauricio Dubón jumped all over a hanging Chad Smith slider for a 404 foot tie breaking home run to left center.

That gave Bryan Abreu the opportunity to earn his third save. He succeeded, retiring the bottom third of the Athletics’ lineup in order.

The win went to Neris, who now owns a record of 6-2, 1.48. Chad Smith, now 2-1, 6.59, was tagged with the loss.

The disappointing defeat worsened the A’s season record to 28-74, .274.

The Yankees beat Kansas City, 8-5, this afternoon at The Stadium in the Bronx. The Royals now stand at 28-73, .277

On July 23, 299, Cleveland’s hapless Spiders, who ended their season at 20-134, .130, the all time worst in major league baseball, did not play, and so they remained at 15-68, .217. The 1962 New York Mets, like their predecessors in futility in 1899 Spiders, didn’t play on July 23rd, which left their record of 24-70, .255 intact.

This afternoon game wrapped up the series with Houston. The Athletics have Monday off and will open a two game set against the Giants at Oracle Park at 6:45pm PT Tuesday evening. Ken Waldichuk (2-6 ERA 6.75) will pitch for Oakland, and Alex Cobb (6-3, ERA 3.15) is scheduled to go for the Giants. There will be a large vocal and visible contingent A’s fans protesting their team’s abandonment of The Town. They expect many Giant fans to join them in the United the Bay phase of the Stay and Sell campaign.