That Didn’t Help The Ol’ Run Differential, Nick Kurtz And A’s Demolish Astros 15-3

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

This game graph really explains it all. One image saves me from writing 1,000 words about this loss.

I’ll keep this recap relatively short tonight. Ryan Gusto obviously didn’t have it, allowing eight runs in only 3 ¹⁄₃ innings. Every Astros pitcher allowed at least one earned run. We saw Cooper Hummel, a position player, throw an inning, allowing four earned runs. I missed it when that was more of a fun novelty, to be honest.

The lineup didn’t have much of a chance, though, facing a 9-0 deficit by

the time Jose Altuve had his second plate appearance. Even within the first three innings, it wasn’t like the lineup did anything of note when the game was relatively within grasp. Joe Espada waved the white flag by the middle innings, removing Altuve, Christian Walker, and Mauricio Dubón at one point. Zack Short had a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to at least prevent the shutout. Yainer Díaz would later add an RBI double in the bottom of the ninth to make it three runs scored for Houston. So, yeah...

For the A’s, Nick Kurtz continues to give the Astros nightmares in more ways than one. He had an all-time game against Houston, hitting four home runs total—only the 20th time in MLB history, a rarer feat than even a perfect game. Kurtz will be a problem in the AL West for many years to come.

There have been 20 four-homer games in history.
There have been 24 perfect games in history.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) July 26, 2025

A rough game all the way around for the Astros, who also placed Brandon Walter on the IL on Friday. 18 players now on the IL by my last count. Hopefully, reinforcements arrive sooner rather than later. Now, excuse me while I root for the Angels for the remainder of the evening. Hunter Brown starts Saturday with Jacob Lopez getting the nod for the A’s.

BOX SCORE HERE

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