WEST SACRAMENTO — The Houston Astros’ five-game winning streak came to a crashing halt Friday night, falling 11-4 to the Oakland Athletics at Sutter Health Park to open a three-game series.
Cristian Javier lasted just 3⅔ innings, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks while striking out only two batters. It was a concerning outing for a pitcher who entered the season with questions about his effectiveness, and Friday did nothing to quiet those concerns. Roddery Muñoz and Ryan Weiss combined to allow five more runs in relief as the A’s turned the game into a rout.
The A’s jumped on Javier early, scoring once in the second on a Denzel Clarke RBI single before exploding for five runs in the fourth inning. The rally was sparked by a routine pop-up off the bat of Tyler Soderstrom that catcher Yainer Diaz lost in the lights and dropped 28 feet from home plate, allowing a run to score and keeping the inning alive. Max Muncy followed with a two-run double, and Lawrence Butler capped the rally with a three-run home run to put Oakland ahead 6-1. The Athletics added four more runs in the fifth, including a solo shot by Muncy and a three-run homer by Butler, his second of the night.
The Astros managed just four runs on 11 hits, wasting a solid offensive effort. Jeremy Peña doubled and scored on a Yordan Alvarez sacrifice fly in the second to tie the game 1-1—the 500th RBI of Alvarez’s career at just 29 years old—but that was as close as Houston would get. Yainer Diaz added an RBI double in the eighth and Brice Matthews drew a bases-loaded walk, but the damage was already done.
Nick Allen had two hits and scored twice, continuing his solid start to the road trip. Jake Meyers added a sacrifice fly. But it was Oakland’s night from start to finish, with Jeffrey Springs holding the Astros to just one run through six innings before turning it over to the bullpen.
Houston falls to 5-3 on the season and will look to bounce back Saturday afternoon in the second game of the series. The loss serves as a reminder that the A’s, no matter their record or expectations, always seem to play the Astros tough.
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