JJ Bleday and the Oakland A’s come in to MMP to play.
Starting tonight, the A’s will play three games at Minute Maid Park against the Houston Astros.
The last time Houston played Oakland was a three-game set from July 22 through July 24, with the A’s winning the first two before Houston salvaged an 8-1 victory in the closing matchup. Hunter Brown (9-6, 4.00) pitched six innings of one-run ball, bending but not breaking to the tune of six singles, two doubles, and one walk while striking out eight. Chas McCormick (4) went deep, collecting two hits along with Alex Bregman (single, double, two RBI) and Jose Altuve (three singles, two RBI).
It hasn’t been easy any year coming here. They play great ball and they’ve got great fans, so that’s the biggest memory I’m going to take with me. — Altuve, on Houston’s final game at the Oakland Coliseum.
Houston is completing a six-game homestand, started by taking two-of-three from the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks. In Houston’s final win of the series, on Saturday. The Astros overcame an early two-run deficit to win 11-5, backing Yusei Kikuchi (8-9, 4.31). Kikuchi allowed four runs over six innings, giving up seven hits, striking out six, and walking zero. Jeremy Peña (15) and Jose Altuve (19) hit home runs. Altuve and Yordan Alvarez collected three hits each, while Peña and McCormick had two each.
Breggy, Yordan, Altuve, Tuck, Diaz. It feels like one through nine in our lineup can beat you on any given day. — Peña
Oakland just completed a seven-game “home”stand, going 3-4 to the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers. In their last game, on Sunday, the A’s were limited to seven singles and a double against Detroit, led by Shea Langeliers and Zach Gelof with two each. J.T. Ginn (0-1, 4.58) was tagged with the loss, allowing three runs over five innings. Ross Stripling later game up six runs in 2⁄3 of an inning.
It’s great to watch right now. — Eric Byrnes, on Lawrence Butler’s 18-game hitting streak.
Standings
Houston Astros: 77-66, .538. First place in the AL West, 4 1⁄2 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners. Fifth in the American League, one game behind the Kansas City Royals and 1 1⁄2 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins. Eleventh in MLB, 1⁄2 game behind the Atlanta Braves. Last 10: WWWWLLLWWL. On pace for 87-75. Fangraphs projects 88-74 with a 97.5 percent chance of postseason play.
Oakland Athletics: 62-82, .431. Fourth place in the AL West, 15 1⁄2 games behind Houston and eight games behind the third place Texas Rangers. Thirteenth in the American League, two games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels. Twenty-sixth in MLB, 2 1⁄2 games behind the Washington Nationals. Last 10: WLLWWLLWLL. On pace for 70-92. Fangraphs projects the same, with a less than 0.1 percent chance at reaching the playoffs (their magic number for the division is 35 with 19 and 18 games to play, respectively. Houston’s is 15.).
Gametimes and Starting Pitchers
Tuesday, 7:10 PM CT: Osvaldo Bido (5-3, 3.41) vs. Spencer Arrighetti (7-12, 4.82)
Wednesday, 7:10 PM CT: JP Sears (11-10, 4.34) vs. Hunter Brown (11-7, 3.41)
Thursday, 1:10 PM CT: Joey Estes (6-7, 4.46) vs. Framber Valdez (14-6, 2.97)
Valdez is currently second in the AL ERA race, behind Tarik Skubal (DET, 2.53). Incidentally, Ronel Blanco (2.99) is third.