Tag: Houston Astros

Oakland A’s Brent Rooker (25) scores as Houston Astros catcher Victor Caratini (17) waits for the late throw at the plate in the top of the first inning at Minute Maid Field in Houston on Tue Sep 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Oakland A’s (63-82) were on the winning side of a one run game beating the Houston Astros (77-67) 4-3. They led in the game going into the bottom of the seventh inning where the Astros tied this game up. There were three Oakland bunts in the 12th to helped seal this win. Daz Cameron not only had a terrific bunt to start the twelfth inning but a game-saving catch in the tenth inning.

Game recap: The A’s got the bats going early taking a 2-0 lead through the first two innings. In the opening inning Shea Langeliers sacrificed driving Brent Rooker home for the early 1-0 lead. In the second inning they extended their lead with something we did not see at all in their past two games and that was the home run.

Zach Gelof unleashed a 416 feet homer to left and Oakland had a 2-0 lead. Through two innings the Athletics already had three hits and were looking for more.

JP Sears finished this game going six innings allowing four hits, and no runs. He had a great outing . Tyler Ferguson would relieve Sears in the seventh inning getting pulled pretty early in the inning after allowing two hits and two runs. Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti went 6 2/3 innings allowing seven hits, two runs and seven strikeouts.

The A’s managed to hang onto the 2-0 lead going into the top of the seventh inning. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Astros were able to get up on the board. Jon Singleton hit a triple driving Ben Gamel home and Houston trailed by a single run 1-2.

The Astros would tie up this game in the same inning when Jose Altuve hit an infield single reaching second base and Jason Heyward scored to knot this game at two.

Going into the ninth inning the game remained tied and neither team could break the tie. This game went into extra innings With Nick Allen on third base the A’s had a scoring opportunity with two outs.

JJ Bleday struck out swinging and it was on to the bottom of the tenth inning. Mason Miller took the mound for Oakland looking to keep this game tied although lately he has struggled in extra inning games.

Daz Cameron made an exceptional play in right outfield making a game-saving catch for the third out. It was on to the 11th inning with Shea Langeliers at the plate striking out for the first out.

Seth Brown would strikeout followed by Zach Gelof thrown out at first for the third out. Hogan Harris would take the mound in the bottom of the 11th inning striking out Victor Caratini. Ben Gamel would ground out followed by a Jason Heyward strikeout and the game would go into the 12th inning.

Daz Cameron started off the 12th with a successful bunt and Oakland had runners on first and Zach Gelof on third, a huge scoring opportunity. Max Schuemann sacrificed and Gelof scored on an Astro throwing error at home plate.

Cameron would advance to third on another throwing error by Houston. Nick Allen came to the plate and bunted into a fielder’s choice allowing Cameron to score and Oakland had taken a 4-2 lead.

This game was not over by a long shot. Jose Altuve doubled into the gap and Jason Heyward scored for a 4-3 tally. Yordan Alvarez grounded out and Kyle Tucker struck out looking and the A’s needed one more out to seal the game.

Alex Bregman grounded out and that was the ball game with Oakland taking game one of the series 4-3. The A’s were on the winning side of this one run game. They fought hard and refused to let this game go with some exceptional defensive and offensive plays.

Game Notes: After a disappointing series over the weekend against the Detroit Tigers, the A’s traveled to the Lone Star state Monday to take on the Astros Tuesday night. First pitch was 5:10 PM on this incredibly busy media heavy Tuesday evening on numerous venues.

The A’s got back on the winning track in the first game of this series. The A’s got the offense they needed scoring two runs in the 12th to win it. A’s starter JP Sears pitched six innings, allowed four hits with two walks and a strike out. Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti went 6.2 innings, surrendered seven hits, two earned runs, one walk and seven strikeouts.

Game two will feature Joey Estes on the mound for the Athletics. He comes in with a 6-7 win/loss record and a 4.46 ERA. The Astros will start Hunter Brown who has an 11-7 win/loss record and a 3.41 ERA. First pitch for this game is scheduled for 5:10 PM Wednesday night.

Oakland A’s starter JP Sears pitches in the top of the sixth to the Houston Astros at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Jul 24, 2024 (AP News photo)

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Oakland, California

Houston Astros 8 (53-49)

Oakland Athletics 1 (41-63)

Win: Hunter Brown (9-6)

Loss: JP Sears (7-8)

Time: 2:30

Attendance: 14,978

By Stephen Ruderman

The A’s were unable to complete the sweep, as JP Sears imploded late, and the Astros won it 8-1 in what was most likely their final game at the Oakland Coliseum.

The A’s have been playing better baseball as of late. They took two of three from the Phillies, only the best team in Baseball, in Philadelphia to close out the first half. They also took the two of three from the Angels over the weekend at the Coliseum, but were unable to complete the sweep Sunday.

This week, the A’s have had the chance to play spoilers with the Houston Astros in town. The Astros, who got off to a 7-19 start, perhaps showing wear and tear in their aging core, have since played like the Astros of old, and have bolted themselves into dogfight atop a weak American League West with the Seattle Mariners.

The Astros went into this series in a virtual tie for first place with the Mariners, leading by mere percentage points. The A’s won the first two games of this series, but the Mariners have lost the first two games of their current three-game series with the Angels, which meant the two teams were still in a virtual tie coming into play Wednesday.

This was also most likely going to be the final game for the Astros at the Oakland Coliseum. The Astros came over from the National League to the American League in 2013, so they don’t have as much of a history at the Coliseum as the rest of the American League. Still, they’ve had their fair share of epic moments at the Coliseum over these last 12 years.

The A’s had a chance to complete the sweep today, which they were not able to do against the Angels, and they had the perfect guy on the mound for that in JP Sears. Sears hasn’t had the best season, as he came into Tuesday’s game with a 4.49 ERA, but he’s been a consistent game, who has chomped at the bit to take the ball throughout his year and a half in the big leagues.

Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman both singled to left field to start the game, and Yordan Alvarez grounded into a fielder’s choice to put runners at the corners with one out. Yandy Diaz then knocked in Altuve with a sacrifice fly to right.

The A’s struck right back against Astros’ starter Hunter Brown in the bottom of the first inning on back-to-back doubles. Lawrence Butler doubled to center to lead off the inning, and Miguel Andujar immediately followed that up with a double to right to tie the game. Despite the go-ahead run now being at second with nobody out, the A’s were unable to take the lead.

Mauricio Dubon struck out swinging to start the top of the second, but Jon Singleton reached on an error by first-baseman Seth Brown, which allowed Singleton to reach second base. Chas McCormick grounded out to third for an unproductive second out, but Altuve lined the first pitch for the longest single of the year off the bottom of the wall down the left field line to put Houston back ahead.

The A’s had runners at first and second with two outs after base-hits by Brown and Max Schuemann, but the A’s were unable to come through, and Brown got out of the inning without any damage.

Sears pitched a pair of 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth. I would have said he settled down, but if it wasn’t for Brown’s error in the second, it would have most likely been three-straight 1-2-3 innings. Brown, meanwhile, pitched scoreless innings in both the third and fourth.

The Astros led 2-1 going to the fifth, with one out, McCormick hit a home run just barely to the left of straight away center to make it 3-1. Altuve reached on a throwing error by third-baseman Abraham Toro, but Sears kept his composure and got out of it without any further damage.

Brown pitched a scoreless bottom of the fifth, and then Sears hit another rough patch in the top of the sixth. Yainer Diaz doubled to lead off the inning, and Jeremy Pena followed up with a single to left to score Diaz and extend Houston’s lead to 4-1. Like the fifth, Sears settled down, and he ended up picking off Pena, who was trying to steal second, to end the inning.

Brown threw another scoreless inning in the bottom of the sixth, and Sears went back out for the top of the seventh. Even though he got a bad break on Brown’s error in the second, Sear was solid after a bumpy top of the first.

Sears showed some signs of vulnerability in the fifth and sixth, as he allowed a run in each inning, but he was able to minimize the damage both times. Since he had only thrown 74 pitches through his six innings, he was back out for the seventh.

However, as the Astros prepared to go through the fourth time in their order, Sears collapsed. Singleton lined a lead-off base-hit to right, and McCormick was hit by a pitch. Altuve and Bregman then hit back-to-back doubles, and just four batters and eight pitches in, the Astros had scored three runs to open up their lead to 7-1.

Sears was also done, and Kyle Muller was brought into the game. Yordan Alvarez moved Bregman over to third on a fly out to center, and Yainer Diaz got Bregman in with a sacrifice fly to center to make it a laugher at 8-1.

It was quite an unfortunate end to Sears’ day. Sears had given up three unearned runs through six innings, but after giving up four runs in the seventh, his final totals didn’t necessarily reflect his entire outing. He was able to keep the dam from bursting at times, but it finally came unglued in the seventh.

As for his final totals, Sears gave up nine hits and eight runs, seven of them, earned over six innings. He did not walk anybody, and he struck out three.

The A’s wasted an opportunity against Bryan Abreu in the bottom of the seventh, and Muller came back out to throw a 1-2-3 top of the eighth. Muller Worked out of a jam for a scoreless top of the ninth, and he did a great job in three innings out of the bullpen.

Muller also made it so Mark Kotsay did not have to blow through his bullpen. In fact, despite the Astros’ scoring eight runs today, Kotsay only had to use two pitchers.

Taylor Scott pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth for Houston, and Bryan King did the same in the bottom of the ninth, as the Astros ended up winning it 8-1.

Hunter Brown got the win, and JP Sears got the loss. Just like in their series against the Angels, the A’s were unable to complete the sweep, as they fall to 41-63.

The Angels complete their sweep of the Mariners up in Seattle with a 2-1 win at T-Mobile Park, and as a result, the Astros now move a full game ahead of the Mariners atop the American League West.

The A’s will now head to Anaheim for a four-game set against those very Los Angeles Angels starting Thursday night. The veteran, Ross Stripling (1-9, 5.82 ERA), will be on the mound for Oakland, and he will be opposed by left-hander Kenny Rosenberg (0-0, 6.30 ERA), who will make his first start of the season. First pitch will be at 6:38 p.m.

Oakland A’s Lawrence Butler connects for a two run home run against the Houston Astros in the bottom of the third inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Tue Jul 23, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Oakland’s use of the long ball, along with a strong overall pitching effort, gave the Athletics an 8-2 AL West victory over the visiting Houston Astros Tuesday before an announced crowd of 5,896 at the Coliseum.

The A’s (41-62) collected home runs from Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler, Seth Brown, Zach Gelof and Shea Langeliers in the win, as Oakland used a 13-hit attack that included an RBI double by Butler and a run-scoring single by Abraham Toro.

Butler just missed hitting for the cycle – missing a single – and finished 3-for-4, while Toro and Brown each went 2-for-4.

Osvaldo Bido (2-1) gave up one run on four hits in the first five innings to get the win. Bido also struck out six without issuing a walk. Scott Alexander, Tyler Ferguson and Michel Otanez each each threw a scoreless inning in relief. T.J. McFarland gave up a solo home run to Jeremy Peria in the ninth.

Pena led Houston’s nine-hit effort going 3-for-4. Astros starter Jake Bloss (0-1) surrendered five earned runs on six hits and a walk in four innings to take the loss, as the Astros (52-49) slipped into a first-place tie with Seattle in the AL West.

The A’s opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when Butler tripled to right and scored on Rooker’s 23rd home run and team-leading 69th run batted in of the season. In the top of the third, Victor Caratini sent a 427-foot blast to center for his fifth round-tripper, cutting Oakland’s lead to 2-1. Oakland responded with a solo home run by Butler – his 10th – to lead off the bottom of the third, taking a 3-1 lead.

With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Brown and Gelof hit back-to-back home runs to the power alleys, extending the A’s lead to 5-1. It was Gelof’s 20th RBI, and Brown collected his 35th RBI.

In the Oakland fifth, JJ Bleday doubled and scored on a single by Toro. One inning later, Butler’s RBI double to right drove in Max Schuemann, who singled, and the A’s led 7-1. Butler has 32 runs batted in on the season.

Langeliers completed Oakland’s scoring with a drive to left for his 19th home run of the season, and his 53rd RBI.

For the Wednesday getaway game, Hunter Brown (8-6, 4.14) starts for the Astros, facing Oakland’s JP Sears (7-7, 4.49). First pitch is at 12:37 Pacific.

Oakland A’s starter Hogan Harris throws against the Houston Astros in the top of the second inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Mon Jul 22, 2024 (AP News photo)

Houston (52-48). 000 000 000 0. 8. 1

Athletics (40-62). 003 100 00x. 4. 8. 0

Time: 2:07

Attendance: 4,517

Monday, July 22, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–Following Sunday afternoon’s debacle, the current occupants of the Oakland Coliseum recovered and returned to the recent winning ways that had given them a 9-6 record for July, defeating the high flying Houston Astros, 4-0.

The A’s starting pitcher, southpaw Hogan Harris, has ridden the Oakland-Las Vegas shuttle for three round trips in addition to taking paternity leave for a couple of days in July. His time in the A’s rotation this season can be divided into two parts, each consisting of four starts.

From May 30 to June 18, he went 1-0, 1.66, with a trio of no decisions thanks to blown saves. He was 0-3, 5.19 in his four subsequent starts, bringing him to 1-3,3.40 when he went into action tonight, when he shut out the ‘stros over on seven hits and two walks.

65 of his 93 pitches went into the books as strikes. Harris earned the win and now has a record of 2-3, 2.98. One of the reasons for the success Harris enjoyed was the pitchers’ best friend. The Athletics turned three double plays for him in his 6-2/3 innings on the mound.

All of those twin killings were of the around the horn variety, Brett Harris to Zack Gelof to Seth Brown. Hogan didn’t have to rely solely on his fielders; he struck out seven Astro batters. He also had the help of four relief pitchers.

Austin Adams got the third out for him in the seventh, stranding two runners by fanning Alex Bregman. Lucas Erceg, last night’s goat, hurled a perfect eighth tonight, and Mason Miller stonewalled the Astros in a 1,2,3 top of the ninth.

The last time the Bochy Boys visited the Bay Area, Spencer Arrighetti, the rookie right hander who was the Astros’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2023 and was described by the ’24 media guide as the team’s “top pitching prospect,” started against the Giants on June 10.

He held them to one run on three hits over 6-2/3 innings in a 4-3 10 inning loss to their hosts. This evening he made his second appearance on the warm side of the bay and his third against the green and gold. He had been the winning pitcher against them at Minute Maid Park on May 13, allowing two runs, both earned , in a five inning start. 12 days later, he made another five frame start but lost, yielding all of the A’s runs, and they were earned, in a 3-1 loss, again being touched for five hits.

The rookie brought a record of 4-7, 5.63 to tonight’s contest and left after six innings with the Athletics leading, 4-0. He didn’t pitch poorly Monday night, although the A’s made lots of solid contact against him. They scored all their four runs, which were earned in two innings, the third and the fourth.

The three run outburst in the third was the result of singles by Max Schuemann and Lawrence Butler, followed by doubles of the bats of Miguel Andújar and JJ Bleday. Gelof scored the fourth and final tally in the next frame.He drew a walk, stole second, advanced to third on a Harris ground out, and crossed the plate on Max Schuemann’s single to left.

Arrightetti took the loss, having put in six innings of work and thrown 94 pitches, 30 of which were balls. He yielded seven hits, walked one, and struck out three while facing 26 batters. His record when all was over was 4-8, 5.65. Bryan King and Rafael Montero pitched an inning apiece. Montero surrendered a single.

Bleday’s two bagger brought the streak of games in which he has doubled to five. It also was the fifth straight game in which Butler has hit safely.

The resurgent A’s will send Osvaldo Bido (1-1, 3.63) against Houston’s Jake Bloss (0-0, 4.70), Tuesday, evening, at 6:40.