How Astros wild circumstances just painted Dusty Baker into unexpected corner
OUT OF OPTIONS
15 August 2023
If there's one thing we know about Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker, it's that he likes to rely on his veteran players to get the job done. So much so, that perhaps he's been playing his older players like Jose Abreu too much, causing them to look sluggish and now injured in Jose's case.
Now the table is set for Jon Singleton to prove to Houston's manager that he can be relied on even when Abreu returns from injury. Whether Baker likes it or not, he's going to see what it looks like to have Singleton in the heart of the lineup instead of Abreu.
And based on Abreu's lingering back issue at age 36, this is the perfect opportunity to keep him fresh and keep Singleton sharp with regular at-bats. But will Dusty actually do it, or will he continue to run Abreu into the ground?
Be sure to watch the video above as we take the Singleton conversation to the next level.
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Nick Kurtz homered in the ninth inning for the second straight day and the Athletics beat the Houston Astros 3-1 on Monday night.
Brent Rooker drew a leadoff walk against Bryan Abreu (1-3) to open the ninth and reach safely in 12 straight home games. Kurtz followed with his seventh home run of the season 447 feet over the right-field wall.
Kurtz also hit a ninth-inning homer on Sunday to rally the Athletics to a 3-2 win and a three-game sweep at Kansas City.
The Athletics have won four straight games and are now 7-4 over the last 11 after losing 20 of the previous 21.
The Astros had a five-game winning streak snapped after entering winners in 16 of their last 22.
Athletics reliever J.T. Ginn struck out the side in the eighth and Mason Miller (1-2) added two strikeouts in the ninth. Starter Mitch Spence allowed seven hits and one earned run in five innings.
Third baseman Max Muncy made a nice defensive play to end the fifth when he made a backhand stab of a grounder and sent a jump throw from foul territory to get a hustling Jose Altuve at first base.
Houston rookie Ryan Gusto struck out a season-high eight and only allowed one earned run in five innings. He started in place of RHP Lance McCullers Jr., who was placed on the IL.
Altuve homered in the first and JJ Bleday went deep to tie the score 1-1 for the Athletics in the fifth.
Key moment
The Athletics appeared to have runners on second and third with two outs in the eighth following Tyler Soderstrom’s hit. However, an official review showed Jeremy Peña tagged Soderstrom when he came off the bag.
Key stat
Abreu had a string of 16 straight scoreless outings come to an end. Abreu has only allowed runs in three of his 32 appearances.
Up next
Athletics LHP JP Sears (5-5, 5.08) is scheduled to start on Tuesday. The Astros have not named a starter.
