For two games, the Houston Astros had kept Nick Kurtz quiet. Sunday afternoon, they paid for the mistake.
With a runner on first in the third inning, Kurtz turned on a Mike Burrows fastball and sent it into the Astros bullpen for a two-run homer that opened the scoring in a 5-0 Athletics win at Daikin Park. Brent Rooker added a solo shot in the fifth, and rookie Gage Jump handled the rest.
Jump, 23, was making just his third major-league start and looked nothing like a rookie against a lineup that scored 13 runs Saturday. He worked into the seventh inning without allowing a run, touching 98.4 mph with his fastball and using his slider to neutralize Houston the second and third times through the order. The Astros managed only three singles against him before three Athletics relievers closed out Houston’s fifth shutout loss of the season.
Burrows added to an unwanted trend. Entering the day, he led all American League pitchers in home runs allowed and surrendered two more Sunday, both against his four-seam fastball. Kurtz and Rooker each connected against the pitch as Burrows allowed eight hits over five innings and left with a 5.77 ERA.
Steven Okert, Nate Pearson, and Bryan Abreu combined to allow zero hits over the final four innings, an effort that went unrewarded.
The afternoon brought another concern. Nick Allen, starting at second base while Jose Altuve received a rest day, singled in the third inning and exited shortly after reaching first base with left hamstring discomfort. Altuve entered in the eighth as a defensive replacement.
Houston closes the nine-game homestand at 4-5 and falls to 30-37 before opening a three-game series Monday in Anaheim, where AL Pitcher of the Month Spencer Arrighetti is scheduled to face Grayson Rodriguez.
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