Oakland returns the favor and pummels the Astros
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 2 hits from the 21-7 loss
After beating the Mariners and A's with a combined score of 36-1 over the last two games, Houston looked to stay hot on offense to take the second game of this series against Oakland and continue moving towards a clinch of the division. Here is a recap of Tuesday's game:
Final Score: A's 21, Astros 7.
Record: 95-51, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Tanner Roark (10-8, 4.01 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Wade Miley (13-5, 3.74 ERA).
1) What is going on with Wade Miley?
After a horrible appearance in his last start where he had five earned runs and left the game without recording an out, Wade Miley was likely determined to get out to a quick and efficient start on Tuesday. Instead, he had an even worse performance than his last, giving up seven earned runs while getting a single out.
He allowed a lead-off single, then a one-out walk, followed by six consecutive singles which put Oakland out to an immediate 6-0 lead before A.J. Hinch would make his way to the mound and move to the bullpen. Cy Sneed would quickly warm-up and finish the first, but not before allowing another of Miley's runs. Miley's final line: 0.1 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 HR.
2) A night to forget for Houston
Unlike Miley's last disaster where he was eventually bailed out by his offense, there was no coming back for the Astros in this one. Sneed allowed four runs of his own, allowing two two-run homers with one in the second and one in the third. Joe Biagini did even worse, coming in to try and eat some innings in the fourth but instead allowing three two-run homers without getting a single out.
Devenski finished the fourth, but Oakland would get to him too, tagging him with a solo home run and an RBI-double. Framber Valdez was next and allowed the 20th run to the A's on the night on a sacrifice fly in the sixth, then one last run in the ninth, though he would finish the game.
Although futile, the Astros did get a few offensive highlights, including two-homer nights for George Springer and Martin Maldonado, and RBIs from Myles Straw, Abraham Toro, and Jake Marisnick.
Up Next: Houston will look to quickly erase this loss from their memory and take a 2-1 lead in the series with a win on Wednesday night. Game three of this four-game set will get underway at 7:10 PM, and while the A's are expected to start Brett Anderson (11-9, 4.08 ERA), the Astros will look to their bullpen to go all nine innings as they work with a four-man rotation the rest of the year.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
