Astros shutout the A's with multiple homers
Astros daily report: Astros 6, A's 0
Apr 6, 2019, 8:57 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
A quick rundown of the second of three games between the Astros and A's from Saturday night:
Final Score: Astros 6, A's 0.
Record: 4-5, fourth in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Wade Miley (1-1).
Losing pitcher: Aaron Brooks (1-1).
Star of the game: Wade Miley looked better in his second start, and first at home at Minute Maid Park than his first in Tampa Bay. Miley kept the A's off the board over five and two-thirds innings, holding them to just four hits and two walks to go with four strikeouts. Miley kept the defense working, as is his style, but kept the ball in the park and limited the traffic on the bases en route to the win. Honorable Mention: Yuli Gurriel was hot at the plate, going three for four with three doubles and an RBI.
Notes: After a quiet start to the game for both teams offensively, it was Yuli Gurriel who finally got the scoring started in the bottom of the fourth with his signature hit down the third base line all the way into the corner to put Houston up 1-0. George Springer extended the lead to 3-0 in the fifth by crushing a two-run bomb, his third homer of the year. Michael Brantley would match Springer later in the inning, launching a two-run homer of his own, breaking the game open to 5-0. With Miley's pitch count getting high, and the large lead in hand, A.J. Hinch relieved him for Will Harris who would get the last out of the sixth. Robinson Chirinos gave the bullpen one more run of cushion in the bottom of the sixth, getting a solo home run to make it 6-0. Josh James took over in the top of the seventh and worked around a couple of walks to maintain the six-run lead, Chris Devenski pitched a scoreless eighth, then Framber Valdez closed things off in the ninth to wrap up the win and secure the series win.
Up next: The Astros and A's will wrap up the weekend series tomorrow with first pitch at 1:10 PM. Brad Peacock gets the start for Houston and will look to improve to 2-0 and complete the series sweep, while former Astro Mike Fiers will be on the mound for Oakland.
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It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
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