A'S DEFEAT ASTROS
Houston Astros bats go quiet in 4-0 loss to Athletics
Jul 22, 2024, 11:12 pm
A's defeat the Astros, 4-0. Composite Getty Image.
Hogan Harris and three relievers combined on an eight-hit shutout, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Astros 4-0 on Monday night.
Harris (2-3) allowed seven hits in 6 2/3 innings and matched his career-high of seven strikeouts. The win was Harris’ first since June 18.
The game took 2 hours, 7 minute and was played in front of an announced crowd of 4,517
JJ Bleday had three hits while Lawrence Butler and Max Schuemann added two hits each to pace the A’s to their second win in eight games against the Astros.
Houston went into the day tied for first place with Seattle atop the AL West.
Oakland has the fifth-most errors (61) in the majors but turned three triple plays to match St. Louis for the most in baseball (103).
Austin Adams followed Harris and retired Alex Bregman on a swinging strikeout, ending a two-on, two-out threat in the seventh.
Lucas Erceg retired three batters, and Mason Miller pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to finish the game.
Yordan Alvarez doubled in four plate appearances after hitting for the the cycle against Seattle on Sunday. Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena added two hits for the Astros.
The A’s got their sputtering offense going early, stringing together four consecutive one-out hits off Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti in the third.
Miguel Andujar doubled in a run with a drive down the left field line, and a second run scored when Astros left fielder Mauricio Dubón fumbled trying to retrieve the ball. Bleday followed with an RBI double to put the A’s ahead 3-0.
Schuemann singled in Zack Gelof in the fourth to make it 4-0.
Arrighetti (4-8) allowed seven hits and four runs in six innings.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: Former All-Star INF Aledmys Díaz was called up from the Florida Coast League and added to the roster. Díaz, who began the season with Oakland before his release on July 5, played first base and went 0-for-3. … C Victor Caratini (hip) was activated off the 10-day Injured List. INF Greg Kessinger and C César Salazar were optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land. INF David Hensley was designated for assignment.
UP NEXT
Astros’ rookie RHP Jake Bloss (0-0, 4.70 ERA) faces Oakland in his third career start Tuesday. The A’s plan to go with RHP Osvaldo Bido (1-1, 3.44), who will be making his second start of the season after a stellar stint in the bullpen.
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The Astros and the Yankees in the Bronx this weekend. Fun! And important. Both teams have been in results ruts for a while. The Astros have gone 9-16 over their last 25 games while the Yankees’ funk is longer extending, producing a 19-29 mess over their last 48 games. Despite the Seattle Mariners closing in, the Astros still lead the American League West. The Yankees’ hopes of again winning the AL East are fading toward the point of no return. They have tumbled six and a half games behind the Toronto Blue Jays and also lag three games behind the rampaging Boston Red Sox. Hence, the Yankees are under clearly more pressure than are the Astros this weekend. The pitching matchups in the first two games strongly favor the Astros. Friday night it’s Hunter Brown opposite rookie Cam Schlittler who makes his fifth big league appearance. Saturday afternoon it’s Framber Valdez versus Luis Gil, who was the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, but missed the first four months of this season with a lat injury. Gil made his 2025 debut Sunday, and was terrible. The Astros’ quality rotation depth beyond Brown and Valdez is non-existent at this point. Their Sunday starter will be a lesser starter than the Yankees’ Max Fried. Of course, in one game you never know.
The Astros have thoroughly owned the Yankees in their most meaningful meetings over the last decade. In 2015 the ousted the Yankees in a one-game Wild Card matchup. Then came the real soul-crushers with the Astros vanquishing the Yanks in the 2017, 2019, and 2022 American League Championship Series, with it getting easier for the Astros as time went on. The 2017 series went the maximum seven games, 2019 took six, 2022 was a four-game Astros’ sweep. The regular season has been a different matter. The Yankees have beaten the Astros in 11 of 14 games over the last two years. Last season the Yankees walloped the Astros six wins to one. They only play six times this regular season: the three in New York this weekend then three at Daikin Park in early September.
Here comes the Judge
While the Astros (and their fans) endure a seemingly never-ending wait for Yordan Alvarez’s return to the lineup, the Yankees have Aaron Judge back after a 10-day stint on the injured list. Judge carries the burden of soft career postseason stats (though he has 16 home runs in just 58 postseason games and his career playoffs OPS is just 21 points lower than Alex Bregman’s), but this is a legendary player. Judge’s career OPS stands at a whopping 1.024. That number will drop during the decline years remaining in his career, but here’s the list of all time Major Leaguers higher than 1.024: Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Barry Bonds, and Jimmie Foxx. Those are arguably the four greatest offensive players in MLB history, plus Foxx who probably rates in the top 20. If he holds up the rest of the season, Judge is a cinch for his third AL Most Valuable Player Award in four years.
Turn back the clock
Should they choose to check it out, the Astros can watch the Yankees’ Old-Timers' Game Saturday. Though most of the greatest of Yankee legends have died, there will still be a fabulous cast of alumni who soak up cheers during introductions, with many of them then taking part in a two or three inning game. The Yankees are by far the most storied franchise in MLB. The Astros have plenty of history and beloved players over multiple generations to copy the concept, and have their own Old-Timers' Day at Daikin Park. Would it not be a blast to see Roger Clemens pitch to Craig Biggio? Roy Oswalt to Lance Berkman? As I said during our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast this week, I wouldn’t bet against 78 (as of Friday)-year-old Jose Cruz squaring up a ball for a line drive. Make Astros’ Old Timers’ Day happen in 2026 Jim Crane!
Angry birds
The best team in the American League is Toronto, best for now anyway. The Blue Jays have been the best over the last two months-plus. The Jays woke up May 29 at 27-28. Since then they are 41-20. Over that time frame the Astros have the third-best record in the AL behind the Jays and Red Sox. A notable part of Toronto’s success the past month is Joey Loperfido. He didn’t make the Jays’ big league squad coming out of spring training, and wasn’t called up until July 6. Over 72 at bats since getting back to “The Show” Loperfido is batting .389 with a .978 OPS. Reminder that Loperfido hit .372 over his first 43 at bats with the Astros. Full credit to Joey for a magnificent month. Still, there is no reason for the Astros to be wracked with regret for having included Loperfido in last season’s trade for Yusei Kikuchi.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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