A'S DEFEAT ASTROS
Astros come up short again losing to the A's, 5-4
Sep 11, 2024, 10:30 pm
A'S DEFEAT ASTROS
Kyle McCann hit a two-run homer, Brent Rooker had two hits and two RBIs and the Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Astros 5-4 on Wednesday night.
The Astros have lost three straight games and their lead in the AL West has narrowed to four games over Seattle with 17 to play.
Houston also lost All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve, who exited after the fifth inning with right side discomfort. He called manager Joe Espada and the trainer out after a swing on strike two of his at bat in the fifth. He completed the at bat, striking out on a bunt attempt, but did not take the field in the sixth.
McCann hit a two-run homer off Hunter Brown (11-8), and Rooker hit an RBI single off Caleb Ferguson as the A’s plated three to take a 5-3 lead in the sixth. Rooker also had an RBI single as part of two-run third that tied the game at 2-2.
The Astros took a 2-0 lead in the second on a sacrifice fly by Jake Meyers and an RBI single by Mauricio Dubón. Yordan Alvarez scored on a Max Schuemann error in the third to give the Astros a 3-2 lead.
Kyle Tucker hit an RBI single in the eighth to cut the deficit to one, but Tyler Ferguson got Ben Gamel to fly out to end the inning.
Oakland's Joey Estes (7-7) surrendered three runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. Mason Miller pitched the ninth for his 24th save.
Lawrence Butler extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a single in the fifth.
Brown yielded five runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts in five innings.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Athletics: RHP Ross Stripling was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Monday with a lower back strain. LHP Kyle Muller was selected from Triple-A Las Vegas to take Stripling’s place on the roster. LHP Jack O’Loughlin was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.
Astros: OF Chas McCormick was out of the lineup Wednesday with right wrist discomfort after exiting Tuesday’s game.
UP NEXT
Astros LHP Framber Valdez (14-6, 2.97 ERA) starts opposite Athletics RHP Mitch Spence (7-9, 4.42 ERA) in the series finale Thursday.
As players continue to arrive at Astros spring training, the updates we are receiving are very positive for the most part. Astros pitcher Lance McCullers is very optimistic about his chances to return and produce a successful and healthy season.
At this point, we'll just have to wait and see with McCullers, but it is encouraging to hear how happy he is with where he is physically. Lance pointed out that his velocity is sitting right around 90mph, which is where it was typically in spring training in previous years.
When McCullers spoke about how he would be used this season, something really stood out. He stated that he expected to continue to be used as a starter, despite GM Dana Brown talking about the possibility of Lance coming out of the bullpen.
McCullers even said he wasn't sure where that narrative is coming from, he anticipates starting because he feels like pitching in relief would be harder on his body.
The puzzling communication trend continued when Jose Altuve told reporters on Monday that the team asked him to give left field a try after the conclusion of last season.
Which doesn't line up with the reports that Altuve volunteered to move to left field in an effort to convince Alex Bregman to return to Houston after the team traded for infielder Isaac Paredes.
Speaking of Bregman, we heard reports last season that Alex wasn't happy with how he was communicated with when the team dropped him in the batting order due to his offensive struggles.
However, there is one common factor between these players. Bregman, McCullers, and Altuve are all represented by Scott Boras. It wouldn't surprise us if the reports about Altuve being willing to switch positions was actually something that was floated by Boras to increase leverage in the Bregman negotiations.
Making it seem like Houston was still interested in re-signing Bregman after seemingly filling his position with Paredes could make some sense.
Another element to consider in this communication narrative is Yordan Alvarez making his feelings known on where he hits in the batting order. Yordan didn't request to hit second or third, but he did make it clear he would like the club to pick a spot for him and leave him there.
Based on Altuve's inclination to swing at the first pitch, it wouldn't surprise us if Yordan would prefer to hit third, so he won't find himself regularly in the batter's box for the second pitch of the game.
The club has publicly stated they would like the hitters to see more pitches this season, hopefully that starts with Altuve. Opposing pitchers know Altuve's tendencies, so ambushing fastballs on the first pitch of the game is not as effective as it once was.
One final thought on the mixed signals between the players and front office. We have to take anything Dana Brown says with a grain of salt. He says a lot of things that turn out to be false, and not necessarily on purpose. This is the same guy that said Kyle Tucker would sign an extension with Houston, and Bregman was the top priority in free agency.
I think he's quickly learning that Jim Crane isn't the one that's going to have to “fasten his seatbelt.”
Be sure to watch the video above for the full discussion!
Spring training is up and running. 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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