Houston's first loss of the postseason
Oakland forces Game 4 by outslugging Astros in ALDS Game 3
Oct 7, 2020, 6:15 pm
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Jose Urquidy exiting after allowing four solo home runs to Oakland
Undefeated thus far in the postseason, including the first two games of this best-of-five ALDS, the Astros could sweep the Oakland A's and advance to the ALCS for their fourth-straight year with a win in Game 3. Here is how the game unfolded Wednesday:
Final Score: A's 9, Astros 7.
Series: HOU leads 2-1.
Winning Pitcher: Liam Hendriks.
Losing Pitcher: Brooks Raley.
Teams trade early runs before A's homer their way to a lead
Oakland came out swinging in a must-win game against Jose Urquidy and would get on the board first as they switched to being the visitor team at Dodger Stadium. It came via a one-out solo home run by Tommy La Stella in the top of the first, netting the A's a quick 1-0 lead.
'Tuve tied it. #ALDS pic.twitter.com/4LREIO4fNb
— MLB (@MLB) October 7, 2020
Houston responded right away in the bottom of the first, getting a one-out solo homer of their own by Jose Altuve to tie the game. They then took their first lead, getting an RBI-groundout by Carlos Correa to score Michael Brantley, who singled then moved to third on an Alex Bregman single.
Oakland would continue to pepper the scoreboard with solo home runs against Urquidy, though, with one in the top of the second, fourth, and fifth innings to regain the lead at 4-2, and chasing him out of the game in the fifth. His final line: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 4 HR, 79 P.
Houston scores five in the fifth, A's tie it up again
After Blake Taylor would load the bases but strand them to finish the top of the fifth for Urquidy, the Astros went to work in the bottom half. They would put together a five-run bottom of the fifth, starting with a two-run homer by Aledmys Diaz to tie the game, followed by RBI hits for Michael Brantley, Alex Bregman, and Kyle Tucker, pushing the Astros in front 7-4.
A 4-run 5th #ForTheH and the @Astros are back on top. #ALDS pic.twitter.com/JFJaMejpXo
— MLB (@MLB) October 7, 2020
Josh James was next out of Houston's bullpen for the top of the sixth and would erase a leadoff walk to keep the three-run lead. He returned for the top of the seventh, but the top of Oakland's order would knock him out with back-to-back singles to start the inning to set up a game-tying three-run homer by Chad Pinder to make it 7-7.
Oakland forces Game 4
Brooks Raley took over for James, getting the next three A's out in order, ending the half-inning. Like James before him, Raley would return to try and go another inning but would get tagged by Oakland, who would get two sac flies in the inning to go in front 9-7.
Houston would get the first two batters aboard in the bottom of the eighth but would strand both as Oakland retired the next three batters. Andre Scrubb was able to keep it a two-run game with a scoreless top of the ninth, but Liam Hendriks would complete his third inning of work for Oakland and finish off the win for the A's to force a Game 4.
Up Next: ALDS Game 4 will start at 2:35 PM Central on Thursday. The Astros will remain the home team for another game, with Oakland batting first as the visitors. The starting pitchers have not yet been announced.
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Fresh off their 50th win of the season, the Houston Astros begin a three-game series in Colorado on Tuesday night, looking to stay hot against a Rockies team still searching for answers.
Houston enters the matchup atop the AL West with a 50–34 record, having won seven of its last 10 games. Though the Astros haven’t been as sharp on the road — just 18–20 away from home — their pitching and power-hitting combo continues to give opponents fits. Isaac Paredes leads the team with 17 home runs, and when Houston clears the fences multiple times in a game, the results speak for themselves: an 18–5 record when hitting two or more homers.
Victor Caratini has quietly chipped in during this recent stretch, going 8-for-33 with three home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games, helping make up for some offensive inconsistency. Houston’s team batting average over that span sits at just .225.
Left-hander Colton Gordon takes the mound Tuesday, carrying a 3-1 record and 3.98 ERA into his ninth start of the year. He’ll face a Colorado offense that’s scuffled all season, particularly at home. The Rockies have managed just eight wins in 40 games at Coors Field and are riding a 2–8 skid. Rookie righty Chase Dollander (2-8, 6.06 ERA) gets the start for Colorado as he looks to slow down a Houston team that has found different ways to win.
While Hunter Goodman and Mickey Moniak have provided some spark for the Rockies at the plate, the team has been outscored by 26 runs over the past 10 games and owns one of the league’s worst pitching staffs, a troubling combo against an Astros club that doesn’t need many openings to take control.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams this season. For Houston, it’s a chance to keep momentum rolling against the team with MLB’s worst record. For Colorado, it’s another test in a season full of them.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -173, Rockies +144; over/under is 11 1/2 runs
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