Sacramento A’s reliever Mason Barnett throws to the Houston Astros line up in the bottom of the fifth inning at Minute Maid Field in Houston on Fri Jun 5, 2026 (AP News photo)

By Mauricio Segura

The Sacramento Athletics have spent this season proving they can travel well, but the Houston Astros reminded them fast that a good road record does not protect anyone from a rough first inning. Sacramento fell behind early, wasted a bases-loaded chance in the second, and never climbed back in a 5-1 loss to the Astros.

Houston wasted little time making Jack Perkins work in his first start of the season. Jeremy Peña opened the bottom of the first with a single, Yordan Alvarez drew a walk, and after Christian Walker flew out, Isaac Paredes turned the inning into Houston’s game.

Paredes lifted a three-run homer to left-center, putting the Astros ahead 3-0 before the Athletics had much of a chance to settle in. Perkins recovered enough to strike out Jose Altuve and Cam Smith, but the damage had already landed.

The A’s had their best early chance in the second. Tyler Soderstrom drew a walk, Henry Bolte followed with an infield single, and Zack Gelof added another hit to load the bases with one out. It was the sort of inning that could have flipped the mood fast, especially with Soderstrom carrying a ten game hitting streak into the game and Bolte showing signs of life at the plate. But Peter Lambert escaped by striking out Jeff McNeil and Darell Hernaiz, leaving three Athletics stranded and keeping Houston’s lead at three.

Houston added more in the third. Alvarez singled, Walker drove him home with a triple to right, and Paredes added a sacrifice fly that scored Walker for a 5-0 Astros lead. Paredes finished with four RBIs, giving Houston the big swing and the extra nudge it needed. Walker also had a strong night, reaching base three times with the triple, a walk, and a run scored.

Perkins lasted four-plus innings and was charged with five runs. He did have moments where the ball looked better than the line score, including a perfect second inning with two strikeouts and a fourth where he worked around a Jake Meyers single.

Still, Houston made him pay for the traffic. Mason Barnett took over in the fifth and gave Sacramento useful relief, allowing no runs while striking out five across four innings. Barnett’s outing kept the game from getting out of hand and gave the Athletics bullpen a needed lift after a tough finish the day before.

Sacramento finally broke through in the sixth when Brent Rooker sent a solo homer to left, trimming the deficit to 5-1. It was Rooker’s ninth homer of the season and a needed swing for a hitter who had been searching for results. Soderstrom then drew another walk and Bolte doubled to center, putting two runners in scoring position with one out. Once again, the inning teased the A’s with a chance to make Houston sweat. Once again, the Astros escaped, this time with Enyel De Los Santos striking out Gelof before McNeil lined out to Jose Altuve.

Bolte was one of the better stories for Sacramento, finishing with three hits, including the sixth-inning double. His night matched the growth noted around his recent stretch, as the young outfielder continued to give the lineup energy near the bottom of the order.

Soderstrom did not record a hit, ending his hitting streak at ten games, but he reached twice on walks. Nick Kurtz also drew two walks, though Houston kept him from doing the kind of damage he has often done against the Astros.

The Athletics’ defense had one of the game’s brighter moments in the fifth. After Peña drew a walk, Shea Langeliers threw him out trying to steal second, with Jeff McNeil applying the tag. The call survived a Houston challenge, adding to Langeliers’ strong season controlling the running game.

That play briefly quieted an Astros inning and showed why Langeliers remains one of the more complete catchers in the American League, even on a night when his bat stayed quiet.

Houston’s bullpen handled the final four innings without allowing another run. Bryan King erased Kurtz’s leadoff walk in the eighth when Tyler Soderstrom grounded into a double play, and Josh Hader struck out the side in the ninth. For the Athletics, it was a game of missed turns: bases loaded in the second, two men in scoring position in the sixth, and too many strikeouts when the lineup needed contact.

Game 2 will give Sacramento a fresh arm and a good storyline, with Kade Morris making his Major League debut after going 5-3 with a 4.45 ERA and 49 strikeouts at Triple-A Las Vegas, while Houston counters with Tatsuya Imai (2-3, 5.52 ERA, 28 K); first pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. Pacific Saturday .

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.

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