Houston Astros Drop First Half Finale to Oakland A's

The Houston Astros lost 4-3 on Sunday to the Oakland A's, closing out the first half of the season.

Kenny Van Doren | Jul 18, 2022

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Odorizzi cruised through the first five innings on Sunday, throwing just 71 pitches. The righty had allowed only two hits prior to the sixth inning — when sloppy play spoiled the Houston Astros’ lead.

Odorizzi entered the sixth with three runs behind him. Kyle Tucker had slapped a solo home run in the first inning, and Jeremy Peña followed in the fifth with a two-run shot to give the Astros an early three-run advantage over Oakland.

But with one out in the sixth, Odorizzi surrendered a solo home run to former Astros' prospect Ramón Laureano. The A's started biting at the righty's heels from there as Sean Murphy worked a seven-pitch at-bat into a single.

Seth Brown reached on an infield single slapped back at Odorizzi — who fielded it awkwardly, making a throwing error to first in the process. Peña was positioned for a double play if the ball slipped past Odorizzi, but alas, Brown and Murphy advanced to second and third on the error.

Manager Dusty Baker pulled Odorizzi at that point with two runners on in the sixth inning as his starter totaled 89 pitches. Ryne Stanek was handed the ball with a two-run lead, but it didn't hold for long.

Stanek induced a line drive from Chad Pinder to center fielder Jake Meyers who didn't come down cleanly with the catch. Meyers — who was in position to make the grab — was attended to by head athletic trainer Jeremiah Randall and Baker after the play.

Meyers missed much of the start of the season recovering from left-shoulder surgery, but he remained in the game Sunday after awkwardly falling on his right shoulder. Pinder's knock was scored a double, and it brought home Murphy and advanced Brown to third.

With the A’s still trailing by one run, pinch-hitter Stephen Vogt scored Brown from third on a sacrifice fly to left field. Stanek ended the inning two batters later after allowing two inherited runners to score.

Following Sunday's outing, Stanek's scoreless inning streak improved to 25 2/3. The righty is one-scoreless frame away from matching Will Harris' streak from 2016.

Houston Astros Relief Pitcher Rafael Montero / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

As Houston's bats remained cold, Oakland found the go-ahead run in the eighth inning. The Astros looked to Rafael Montero for a second inning of relief, but after two quick groundouts, Pinder reached again — this time on a single.

Montero threw a wild pitch which moved Pinder into scoring position. Vogt took advantage, picking up his second RBI of the contest with a single to right to put the A's ahead 4-3.

The Astros didn't score again, but Ryan Pressly remained perfect in the ninth. The closer reached 27 consecutive batters retired in relief Sunday — the equivalent to a perfect game for a reliever — as he tied Dave Guisti (1965) for the club record.

Since his blown save against the New York Yankees on June 23, Pressly has been the most dominant closer in the sport. To go along with his 27-out streak, he has 17 strikeouts in that time.

The Astros lost their first series since the Miami Marlins came to Minute Maid Park in mid June. Moving to 59-32 before the break, Houston holds a nine-game lead in the AL West over the red-hot Seattle Mariners — who have won 14 straight games.

Houston returns to the diamond at 12:10 p.m. Thursday for the first game of a traditional doubleheader with the New York Yankees, before traveling to Seattle for a three-game set.

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Published Jul 18, 2022

KENNY VAN DOREN

Kenny Van Doren is a writer for FanNation's 'Inside the Astros,' part of Sports Illustrated. Kenny formerly covered the Astros for Climbing Tal's Hill of FanSided. Kenny also attends the University of Missouri where he studies journalism.