“A brutal ending to a very disappointing homestand.”
That was the assessment on the Astros’ postgame broadcast Sunday, and it would be difficult to argue with it.
The Houston Astros ended a nine-game homestand against three AL West opponents with a 7-6 loss to the Athletics, completing a 3-6 stretch in which they lost series to the Mariners, Angels, and A’s.
Back-to-back Dog Days at Daikin Park should not have inspired the Astros to dog the series, but after watching a 6-0 lead disappear in a 53-pitch fifth inning Sunday, “woof” feels about right.
Astros Build an Early 6-0 Lead
For four innings, the Astros looked like a team determined to salvage something from a homestand that had already gone badly wrong.
Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvarez opened the bottom of the first with consecutive singles before Isaac Paredes brought Peña home with a sacrifice fly. Jose Altuve followed with his 14th home run of the season, a three-run shot that gave Houston a quick 3-0 lead.
The Astros added another run in the second when Jack Perkins walked Altuve with the bases loaded. Paredes then appeared to put the game comfortably in Houston’s hands with a two-run homer in the fourth, his 17th of the season.
Six runs. A 6-0 lead. Cristian Javier had struck out eight through four innings.
And then came the fifth.
A 53-Pitch Fifth Inning Erases the Lead
Javier allowed a single to Donovan Walton and walked Darell Hernaiz before Brian Serven hit a three-run homer. Javier’s afternoon was over after four-plus innings, four hits, three earned runs, two walks, eight strikeouts, and 90 pitches.
Enyel De Los Santos entered with a 6-3 lead and could not stop the inning.
Henry Bolte singled. After De Los Santos struck out Carlos Cortes, he hit Zack Gelof with a pitch. Lawrence Butler doubled home Bolte, and Tommy White followed with a two-run single that erased what remained of Houston’s six-run lead.
By the time De Los Santos was removed, he had recorded one out while allowing three hits and three earned runs.
Kai-Wei Teng finally stopped the collapse, although not before hitting Donovan Walton and throwing a wild pitch that moved two runners into scoring position. Teng struck out Hernaiz to end an inning that required an astonishing 53 pitches from three Astros pitchers.
The score was tied 6-6.
It was a particularly ugly example of a problem that has plagued the Astros throughout this homestand: Once things begin going wrong, they seem unable to arrest the momentum. Houston had opportunities to stop the fifth with the lead still intact. Instead, 6-0 became 6-3, then 6-4, then 6-6 before the Astros could finally record three outs.
And once the pitching staff stopped drowning, the offense could not pull the team back into the boat.
Astros Offense Goes Silent
Houston did not score again after Paredes’ fourth-inning home run.
Steven Okert took over in the seventh and retired the first two batters before Max Muncy homered to center field, giving Oakland its first lead of the afternoon at 7-6.
That one run was enough.
The Astros had their chances. Peña doubled with one out in the sixth, and Alvarez was intentionally walked, but Paredes flied out and Altuve lined out. Taylor Trammell led off the eighth with a single, and Alvarez was intentionally walked again with two outs, but Paredes again flied out to end the threat.
Houston went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine runners. Alvarez was intentionally walked three times, tying Jeff Bagwell’s franchise record for a single game and giving Alvarez 28 intentional walks this season, a new Astros single-season record. The strategy paid off for Oakland in both the sixth and eighth innings, when Houston failed to score after Alvarez was intentionally put aboard.
AJ Blubaugh gave the Astros a scoreless eighth, inducing Serven into a double play, and Josh Hader struck out two in a perfect ninth. Teng, meanwhile, stopped the fifth-inning bleeding without allowing another run.
The Astros had Altuve, Daulton Varsho, and Christian Walker due up in the bottom of the ninth. All three went down in order.
Some of the final numbers make the loss even more frustrating. Astros pitchers struck out 16 Athletics hitters. Altuve and Paredes homered. Houston scored six runs in the first four innings. Blubaugh and Hader combined for two scoreless innings after Oakland had taken the lead.
None of it was enough to overcome one disastrous inning and an offense that went silent immediately afterward.
A Homestand of Wasted Opportunities
Houston began this homestand with an opportunity to strengthen its position in the AL West. Nine games at home, all against division opponents, offered a chance to put some distance between the Astros and their pursuers.
Instead, Houston went 3-6, lost all three series, and fell below .500 at 65-66 for the first time since July 28. The Rangers’ win Sunday left Texas with the identical record, creating a tie atop the AL West.
The context makes the missed opportunity even worse. The Astros lost a series to the Angels, who have the third-worst record in MLB, then followed it by losing a series to an Athletics team with the worst record in baseball. In Sunday’s finale against that last-place team, Houston was handed another opportunity in the form of a six-run lead and wasted that, too.
That was the story of the homestand: opportunities presented themselves repeatedly, and the Astros repeatedly failed to take advantage.
Now Houston heads to New York to face the Yankees on Tuesday, beginning a stretch of 13 consecutive games without a day off.
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