Tag: Houston Astros

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.

Oakland A’s second baseman Zack Gelof gets the force on the Houston Astros runner Jose Abreau (79) but Gelof makes a throwing error to first in the top of the fourth inning. Gelof made up for it later breaking up Astros pitcher Cristian Javier’s no hitter in the sixth inning and getting his first MLB home run in the seventh inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Jul 22, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Michael Roberson

OAKLAND, Calif.– The World Champion Houston Astros (55-44) took an “L” from the struggling Oakland Athletics (28-73) , losing 4-1 on a Saturday Evening in the Bay. Oakland snapped their eight game skid with the victory.

In Game # 99 for the Astros, the first five innings were uneventful and scoreless. As for the Athletics, they weren’t able to even get a hit through that segment of time. After five complete innings, 0-0.

The Top of the sixth changed the theme of the game, when Houston’s third baseman Alex Bregman belted a homer to left field, chasing A’s Paul Blackburn from the game after a base hit and walk. However, the Oakland relief pitcher, Austin Pruitt forced an inning-ending double play, keeping the game close, 1-0 Astros.

In the Bottom of Stanza Number six, the A’s flipped the script, by ending the no-hitter (Zack Gelof), chasing the starting pitcher, and taking a lead 2-1 on a two-RBI base hit by third baseman Jace Peterson. He knocked in Gelof and first baseman Seth Brown.

Gelof was at it again in the bottom of the seventh, as he blasted a solo dinger to right center to give Oakland a comfortable 3-1 lead after seven.

The Athletics were not finished scoring, as they tallied another run on the scoreboard on a home run blast by Seth Brown. After 8, 4-1 Oakland.

That was all Oakland needed, as they slammed the door shut in the top of the ninth, despite a near three-run homer by the Astros. Athletics win 4-1!

The two teams will play the series finale Sunday Afternoon (1:07 PDT), with projected starters: Astros RHP Hunter Brown (6-7, 4.24) vs. A’s Luis Medina (3-7, 5.79).

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.

Houston Astros starter JP France throws into the seventh inning against the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum on Thu Jul 20, 2023 (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Houston Astros rookie JP France struck out five hitters going into the bottom of the eighth inning for the first time this season at the Oakland Coliseum Thursday night and picked up his third win.

#2 The Oakland A’s who had a 1-0 lead couldn’t hold onto the lead as the Astros scored twice in the top of the sixth inning and never back from that point.

#3 The Astros Alex Bergman’s home run gave the Astros some insurance in the top of the ninth and a two run cushion as the A’s just didn’t have anything in the tank in trying to get anymore offense going.

#4 A’s starter Hogan Harris surrendered the two runs in the top of the six on when the Astros Mauricio Dubon and Jeremy Pena hit RBI doubles to knock in a run each. Hogan however pitched well going six inning giving up four hits striking out six in the cause.

#5 The Astros will be starting Framber Valdez (7-6 ERA 2.76) against the A’s JP Sears (1-6 ERA 3.99) for tonight’s second game of this four game series at the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s after winning two in a row against Boston opened the series with the Astros with a loss and hope to get back in the win column tonight.

Join Jeremiah for the A’s podcasts Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The Houston Astros Jose Abreau slides in front of the Astros dugout after hitting a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning off A’s pitcher Sammy Long. In the top of the ninth Abreau was beaned by A’s pitcher Garrett Acton for showboating running fast around the bases and sliding in front of the dugout. Acton was given a warning for hitting Abreau. (AP News photo)

Houston (31-21). 100 300 213. – 10. 13. 1

Oakland (10-45) 100 000 000. – 1. 6. 0

Time: 2:37

Attendance: 8,809

Sunday, May 28, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–The Cleveland Spiders did not play on this day in 1899. Their record remained 7-23, 2.33.

The 1962 New York Mets also had May 28th off. They remained at 12-27, 3.08.

The 2023 Oakland Athletics, along with 8,809 paying spectators, came to the ball park at 10-44, ,185. The team made its way home alone at 10-45, .181. I wonder what the odds are in Las Vegas on the Nevada bound A’s having the worst won and lost record in the history of major league baseball, before and after the advent of what we call the modern era. The A’s aren’t in a pennant race their in a race with history.

After last night’s game the A’s announced that Luis Medina, a member of their rotation, would toe the rubber for them. They subsequently changed that to Ken Waldichuk, also a member of the rotation, but they noted that he’d be used as an opener.

Waldichuk usually is good for a few innings before falling apart, so it seemed like a good move at the time. That changed after he had thrown 11 pitches because, on the 12th, Yordán Alvarez connected on a 93.2 mph four seamer and sent it 409 feet deep and into the right field seats.

The Athletics quickly got that run back on a lead off homer by Ryan Noda off Astros starter, Cristián Javier, who was 5-1, 3.07 at the time. Noda’s blast went a foot further than Alvarez’s and also went to right. It was the A’s first baseman’s fifth round tripper of the year.

So the game was knotted at one after one inning of play, and that’s when Medina took the mound. He got out of each of his first two frames with a double play. The DP in the top of the third was particularly interesting. A walk to Jeremy Peña loaded the bases with one out. The fourth ball was called because of a clock violation by Medina. Then Alvarez hit a nubber in front of the plate that Medina, Langeliers, and Noda turned into a 1-2-3 twin killing.

He wasn’t able to pull that rabbit out of his cap in the fourth. After getting two quick outs, one on a fly to the left field warning track, Medina gave up a single to left by Julks and an infield single to Díaz. Jake Meyers then lowered the boom, a three run blast into the left field stairway to the left of the 367 foot sign. Once more, the A’s were seeing stars, and the Astros looked down on them, 4-1.

Houston still was leading 4-1 when Parker Mushinski relieved Javier at the start of the home sixth. Javier had gone five full innings and allowed four hits, one of which was Noda’s homer, which accounted for the only run scored against the righty. He walked three and struck out an equal number of Athletics. He threw 88 pitches, 46 of which were counted as strikes. He was the winning pitcher and now stands at 6-1, 2.97.

The A’s loaded the bases with two outs against Mushinski on a walk, a hit batter, and a pinch hit single by Aredmys Díaz, but they ended up stranding all three runners.

Back to back homers by McCormick and Altuve knocked Medina out of the box with one down in the seventh. His stint had been 5-1/3 innings long, and he’d allowed five runs, all earned, on seven hits, three of them out of the park, and three walks. He threw 86 pitches, 51 strikes. He also took the loss and now has a record of 0-4, 6.83. Sam Long replaced him and made short work of Peña and Alvarez to hold the Athletics’ deficit at 6-1.

It increased to 7-1 in the eighth when José Abreu finally got his first home run of the year, a drive just over the glove of a leaping Brown in left. Abreu sped around the bases and went into a slide in front of the Astros’ dugout, where he was greeted by most of his teammates as if it were 1988 and he were Kirk Gibson. A’s pitcher Garrett Acton in relief in top of the ninth was warned by home plate umpire Tony Randazzo for hitting Abreu in the shoulder in retaliation for the slide in front of the dugout.

Phil Maton pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth, allowing only a Texas League single to Nick Allen.

Acton, who did not fare well in yesterday’s debacle, didn’t do any better this afternoon. McCormick flew oout to deep right. Altuve reached first on a hard hit infield single. Peña and Alvarez hit back to back homers, Peña’s to center and Alvarez’s to right center.

The A’s came up in the bottom of the ninth trailing 10-1 and facing Rafael Montero. Laureano drew a lead off walk, and that was it.

Paul Blackburn will return from rehab tomorrow, Monday at 5:07. The Astros will let us know later who they’ll start.

Houston Astros’ Jeremy Pena, left, celebrates after hitting a two-run home run that also scored Jose Altuve (27) during the first inning against the Oakland A’s at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat May 27, 2023 (AP News photo)

Houston (30-21).  200 000 040. –   6. 8. 0

Oakland (10-44).  010 000  020  –   3. 6. 1

Time: 2:41  

Attendance: 9,293

Saturday, May 27, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–This was a day off for the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, so they remained at 7-23, .233.

On this day in 1962, the not yet Amazin’ Mets lost both ends of a double header at Candlestick Park, , 7-1 and 6-5. Future Giant manager Roger Craig was the losing pitcher in the opener. The day ended with the Mets  at 12-27, 3.08.

On this day, May 27, 2023, the deracinated Oakland A’s fell to the Houston Astros, 6-3. The defeat left the Athletics at 10-44, .185. This promises to be a season of historic proportion.

Starting for the visitors was Framber Valdéz, who hurled a complete game shut out against the Athletics this past May 21. He showed up for work with record of 4-4, 2.45 for the ‘stros. He lasted six innings, in which he allowed  one run, earned, on five hits and three walks, striking out five.

His pitch count reached 95, 40 of which were balls. He left with a one run lead and garnered the win, giving him a season record of 5-4, 2.38.

The Athletics’ relievers performed well last night, so it made sense for A’s manager Mark Kotsay and crew to make this afternoon’s contest a bullpen game.  (Kotsay, by the way, wasn’t on the job for the game; Darren Bush was acting manager). They opened with Austin Pruitt. Pruitt would end up being the losing pitcher after giving up the first two runs of the contest in the top of the first inning. The A’s wound up losing 6-3 marking their first 54 loses to start a season an MLB record for a worst start since 1901.

It took him all of three pitches to fall behind,  2-0. José Altuve led off with a single to the gap  (an unintended homage to another of John Fisher’s holdings?) in right center field, and Jeremy Peña banged a hanging slider against the auxiliary scoreboard in left field for his seventh home run of the season.

.Hogan Harris, whom the A’s had just selected from  the PCL Las Vegas Aviators, optioning Adrián Martínez, who had done a good job last night, back to their AAA farm team, was the A’s choice for the second inning. An around the horn double play made up for the walk he issued to Martín Maldonado and allowed Harris to pitch a scoreless frame while facing only three batters.

Harris returned to the hill for the third. He was hit hard, but a marvelous stop and two hop throw across the diamond by Aledmys Diaz at third kept lead off batter Peña off the base paths, and Jordan Alvarez’s fly to deep left died on the warning track in the course of another one, two, three, frame.

That earned Harris another turn on the mound for the visitors’ fourth, in which he fanned all of the three Astros he faced. And so, already having thrown 44 pitches over three innings of shut out ball, Harris went on to pitch another three up, three down frame.  He continued working into the Houston sixth, when he finally gave up his first hit, a two out single to Alex Bregman that got action started in the Oakland bullpen.

When Trevor May relieved him to start the seventh, Harris had thrown 77 pitches (54 strikes)and allowed only one walk and one hit. He faced 16 batters over the course of five frames. Trevor May walked Chas McCormick and surrendered a hard hit infield single to Corey Julks but benefited from an inning ending round the horn twin killing to add another zero to the Astros’ ledger.

Meanwhile, The A’s cut the Houston lead in half in the bottom of the second after Ramón Laureano defied The Curse of the Lead Off Double, stole third, and scored on a line drive sac fly to left. They almost drew even in their half of the fifth, but The Curse of the Lead Off Double took its toll, and Shea Langeliers was stranded on third after Oakland had loaded the bases.

Garrett Acton gave up a lead off double to the much booed Jose Altuve to open the eighth. Peña followed with a resounding double off the State Farm sign in left center, and, for some unknown reason, Altuve stopped at third. Alvarez received an intentional pass, and Bregman cleared the bases with another double to left center that was it was Acton and the A’s.

The latter had to remain on the field, but the former left the mound for Richard Lovelady, who retired both hitters he faced but allowed a sacrifice fly to Jose Abreu that plated Bregman for a run that was charged to Garrett Acton, who tended to be corrupted by the Astros’ power. Houston finished their half of the frame leading, 6-1.

Phil Maton retired Oakland to a conga beat, one, two, three,  in seventh and then gave way to Bryan Abreu, who allowed a lead off double by the slumping Brent Rooker. Two outs later, the green and gold had loaded the bases on a walk to Seth Brown and 3-2 pitch plunking Díaz.

Dusty Baker yanked Abreu and brought in Héctor Neris. Langeliers singled Rooker and Brown home, both runs charged against Abreu, before retiring Tony Kemp on a grounder to second. The Curse of the Lead Off Double had been defeated, but Oakland still was on the short end losing by three runs.

Shintaro Fujinami pitched a perfect top of the ninth to give the A’s one last chance to come back.

Ryan Pressley, who got the save last night, did it again today. It was his tenth of the year.

Tomorrow, Sunday, at 1:07 the A’s will send Luis Medina (0-3, 6.45) against fellow right hander Cristián Javiere (5-1, 3.07) in an attempt to stop their losing streak at 10

Oakland Athletics’ Seth Brown, foreground, reacts after striking out against the Houston Astros during the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Fri May 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

Houston (29-21). 014 000 000. – 5. 9. 0

Oakland (10-43). 000 000 200 – 2. 5. 2

Time: 2:23

Attendance: 13,345

Friday, May 26, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–On this day in 1899, the Cleveland Spiders were obliterated by the Brooklyn Superbas, 12-0, in front of an estimated 100 masochists at the Forest City’s League Park. The defeat left the Spiders at 7-23, .233.

On this day in 1962, the New York Mets were in Candlestick Park, where they suffered a 7-6 walk off loss to the Giants and Don Larsen. The contest drew 18,791 fans and left the Mets nine games out of first place in the 10 team National League, with a won-lost record of 12-25, .324.

On this day in 2023, the Oakland Athletics, still reeling from their eighth consecutive loss, dropped their ninth in a row, this time to the Houston Astros, 5-2, in front of 13,345 fans, many of whom came for the fireworks that followed the contest. This brought the A’s to 10-43, 1.85, giving them a shot, even at this relatively early date, to become the losingest team in major league history.

Oakland’s starting pitcher didn’t have a win to his credit at game time. James Kaprielian was 0-4, 8.68. His brief, occasional ups and ungoing downs are known well enough by the readers of these dispatches not to need ay reiteration. Still, he once seemed to have a bright future in front of him.

Kaprielian was the Yankees’ first round draft pick in 2015. Once Lucas Erceg, a recent acquisition from the Brewers, took over mound duties for the A’s, Kaprielians’ ERA had come down down to 8.45). He threw 93 pitches 60 for strikes, and they took him through five innings. He allowed five runs, four of them earned, on eight hits two walks, and a wild pitch.

He was on the hook for the loss, for which he was charged, making hi 0-5. Erceg pitched a scoreless sixth, and Sam Moll put the visitors down in order on seven pitches in the seventh and, after retiring Tucker in the eighth, gave way to Adrián Martínez. Martínez got his two men out.

The Astros, who came to town three games out of first place in the AL West, sent a young but already accomplished right handed pitcher to the mound. The ‘stros consider him their top prospect. Both Baseball America and MLB pipeline listed him as the major’s 28th top prospect before the season started.

Last season saw him win the PCL Pitcher of the Year and Baseball America Triple A Pitcher of the Year awards. He was a September call up for Houston and went 2-0, 0.89 before appearing in three post season games, going 3-2/3 frames without allowing a run. He went six innings, giving up two runs, one earned, against the A’s on May 20th of this year, earning the win. His 2023 season record when today’s game started was 4-1, 3.20.

A pitcher’s best friend helped Kaprielian emerge unscathed from the first inning, but three singles (one each by Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, and Coreuy Julks) among which José Abreu mixed a fly to the warning track in left field, put the visitors up, 1-0, in their half of the second.

José Altuve, who had missed the first 43 games of the season because of a fractured right thumb suffered in the World Baseball Classic, opened the third with his second hit in as many at bats. This was a double, and it defied The Curse. A walk to Yordán Alvarez, singles by Bregman, Tucker and Julks, not to mention a wild pitch and a passed ball, brought in four runs, making it 5-0, Houston. It’s worth mentioning that Tucker’s hit was a pop fly to shallow left, just to the right of the line, that Seth Brown should have caught.

To give you an idea of how well Hunter Brown was pitching, when Nick Allen walked with one out in the bottom of the sixth, he was the A’s first base runner since Estuery Ruíz’s lead off single in the first.

The Athletics finally got to Brown in the home seventh after Brent Rooker opened the frame with a single to left and Seth Brown powered his third home run of the year, a 410 foot blast into the right center field seats, making it 5-2.

Seven innings were enough for Hunter Brown. He held Oakland to two runs, both earned on four hits, including Seth Brown’s home run and a walk. He chalked up 10 Ks. Only 27 of his 88 offerings were balls. He earned the win, improving his record to 5-1, 3.12. Héctor Neris took over for him to start the eighth. Aside of an infield single by Noda that Houston challenged (a challenge they lost) there was no excitement in that frame.

Martínez returned to the mound for the Athletics in the top of the ninth. With the help of a nice diving catch by Ruíz of Maldonado’s dying quail to center, he put the ’stros away in order.

Ryan Pressley hurled the ninth for Houston, looking for and earning ninth save. Three up, three strike outs.

Tomorrow, Saturday, Houston will sender southpaw Framber Valdéz (4-4,2.45) against an as yet unannounced A’s starter a 1:07pm PT first pitch at the Oakland Coliseum.