A's Stop Red-Hot Astros' Winning Streak With 3-1 Win

There is no such thing as a “July decline” but with the way the Oakland Athletics have been playing lately, there might be such a thing. The A’s have lost five of their last six games prior to the four-game series with the red-hot Houston Astros. Ho hum, yet another obscure game. But it was in favor of the A’s.

The Astros got on the board first, as Marwin Gonzalez‘s RBI groundout scored George Springer for an early 1-0 lead, but the lead was short-lived. The Oakland Athletics grabbed a 2-1 lead in the top of the second. Marcus Semien hit into a double play, but Danny Valencia scored from third. Right after, Yonder Alonso hit an RBI double to score Khris Davis.

Astros’ Doug Fister is a decent starter. A’s right-hander Rich Hill, on the other hand, is a pretty darn good pitcher for a veteran. The 36-year-old brought his A-game to Minute Maid Park. But the question is — Will the rest of the team have his back?

As the sixth inning went underway, the CSN California broadcasters mentioned the A’s haven’t had a hit since the second inning. The game was rather tedious as the same broadcasters casually talked about the reporters and beat writers in the press box. Of course, there were a lot of knowledgeable reporters — including Susan Slusser of the SF Chronicle — who are some my role models in sports journalism.

Also, Coco Crisp was ejected from the game and Billy Burns replaced him in center. Crisp missed strike three, dropped his bat at the umpire’s feet and rolled his helmet backwards. It was reportedly his first ejection since June 23, 2012. Anyways, Hill had a pretty good outing with three home runs, one run and 10 strikeouts over six innings.

A’s Stop Red-Hot Astros’ Winning Streak With 3-1 Win

By Ana Kieu | Jul 7, 2016