WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Henry Bolte and Michael Stefanic both drove in two runs in the sixth inning, and Jacob Lopez tossed four strikeouts in the Athletics’ 6-5 win over the Houston Astros on Friday, assuring the AL West champion will be baseball’s first postseason team without a winning record in a full season.
The Astros still lead the AL West following Texas' 10-2 loss to the Twins. Both teams are 79-81, and the division winner will be the first
in history at .500 or worse.
Lopez (7-5) went six innings, giving up two hits and one run. His only run came off a no-doubt solo homer from Christian Walker that gave the Astros a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning.
The lead lasted into the bottom of the sixth until an error from Jose Altuve sparked the offensive explosion from the A’s.
Hunter Brown (6-4) was pulled for Bennett Sousa following a sacrifice bunt that advanced runners to second and third with one out, but the pitching began to unravel once the bullpen took over.
Sousa’s third pitch was roped to center field by the pinch-hitting Stefanic for a two-run single that put the A’s ahead 2-1. The bleeding continued as the A’s dropped in another hit, and Jonah Heim immediately followed it up with a first-pitch RBI.
AJ Blubaugh replaced Sousa and was met with a Henry Bolte bases-clearing two-run triple that extended the lead to 5-1.
The inning was capped by a grounded fielder’s choice that allowed Bolte to slide into home, avoiding the tag to expand their lead.
Bolte finished the night 2 for 5, and Stefanic went 1 for 1, with both picking up two RBIs.
Cam Smith's solo homer in the seventh cut the Astros’ deficit to four, and they scored three more in the eighth.
Luis Medina struck out Smith to escape the inning with the A's still ahead, and Hogan Harris picked up his 17th save with a hitless ninth.
Houston can clinch a postseason berth with a win against the A’s and a Texas loss versus the Twins on Saturday.
The Athletics will start RHP Jack Perkins (3-12) for Saturday’s matchup against the Astros. Houston has not announced a starter.
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