Fighting for the division title and a playoff spot, the Astros hit five home runs to defeat the spoiler-minded Athletics 7-5 in a back-and-forth opener to their season-ending four-game series.
Astros In Front Early
Both starting pitchers, Mason Barnett and Peter Lambert, tossed scoreless first innings. A’s center fielder Henry Bolte made a stellar diving catch for the second out of the game.
Barnett did not fare as well in the second inning. Rookie center fielder Lucas
Spence hit his first major league home run to give the Astros a 3-0 lead.
Seeking an immediate response, A’s first baseman Jeff McNeil doubled to open the bottom of the second. Zack Gelof then drew a walk to put two runners on with no outs. The Athletics failed to capitalize on the scoring opportunity as Lambert struck out the next three batters.
Squirrel Power: Tie Game!
Shea Langeliers, who kept his at-bat alive by winning an ABS challenge, hit a two-out single in the bottom of the third inning, bringing McNeil to the plate as the potential tying run. McNeil’s ninth home run of the season, a three-run shot to right center off Lambert, made it a brand-new ballgame.
Back-to-Back Jacks
The A’s offense was not done. Gelof followed with a solo home run to center, his 21st of the season, to give the Green and Gold a 4-3 lead. That gave the Athletics 33 home runs this month, tied with the New York Yankees for most in the majors.
Donovan Walton singled for the Athletics fourth consecutive two-out hit, knocking Lambert out of the game after just 2 2/3 innings. The Astros right-hander was one pitch away from ending the inning before suffering that two-out collapse. Left-hander Bryan King replaced him and got out of the inning.
A’s catcher Jonah Heim hit a one-out double in the bottom of the fourth inning, giving the A’s an opportunity to extend their lead. The hosts did not cash in on that scoring opportunity as King struck out two straight to strand Heim at second.
Barnett One Mistake Too Many
Pitching with the lead for the first time, Barnett pitched two straight scoreless innings, retiring eight in a row. Opening the sixth inning, Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes tied the game with his 24th home run of the season, a solo shot to left on a fastball down the middle.
The A’s right-hander rebounded to retire the next three hitters, completing a career-high six innings. Barnett will want those two home run pitches back, but otherwise it was a much-improved outing. He walked two while tying his career-high with eight strikeouts.
A’s Bullpen’s Struggles Continue
The A’s turned the game over to their bullpen as right-hander Scott Blewett entered for the seventh inning. With one out, Spence put the Astros back in front 5-4 with his second home run of the night. Houston had a chance to add on, but Blewett retired Paredes to strand two runners.
While the Astros surged ahead, rookie right-hander Miguel Ullola kept the A’s offense quiet with three scoreless innings of long relief. A night after recording four hits, Bolte struck out looking in his first four at-bats. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, A’s right fielder Lawrence Butler just missed a game-tying home run, settling for a double off the right-field fence. Ullola stranded the tying run at second by getting Langeliers to fly out.
Right-hander Chris Roycroft pitched the eighth for the A’s, looking to keep it a one-run game. With two outs, first baseman Christian Walker hit his 27th home run of the season and the Astros’ fourth of the game, extending their lead to 6-4.
Gelof On Fire
The Athletics got a run back in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Gelof hit his second home run of the night, a solo shot to left against Astros left-hander Bennet Sousa to cut the hosts’ deficit to one. On a night when he received the Catfish Hunter Award, Gelof recorded his second career multi-home run game.
No A’s Comeback Tonight
Astros reliever Bryan Abreu replaced Souza and retired Heim to end the inning, stranding the game-tying run at second base. Tommy White put together another useless three-pitch at-bat as a pinch-hitter that inning.
In the ninth inning, A’s right-hander Elvis Alvarado gave up Houston’s fifth home run of the game. Spence hit his third home run of the night, restoring the Astros’ two-run lead. The unheralded rookie became the third player in MLB history to hit his first three career home runs in the same game.
In the bottom of the ninth, Butler collected his third hit to bring the tying run to the plate. The game ended one pitch later as Abreu got Langeliers to ground into his second double play of the game.
The Athletics will look to bounce back Friday. Left-hander Jacob Lopez will start the second game of the season-ending series, while the Astros have yet to announce their starter.
