A’s Comeback Falls Short To Astros’ Walk-off Win 10-9
By Ana Kieu
At this point, you’re either thinking the Oakland Athletics should forfeit the regular season altogether or they’ll make their way into the playoffs somehow. I don’t know what exactly it is, but it seems like bad luck has plagued the A’s.
Daniel Mengden was ready to take the mound Friday night. He completed his stretches and rocked his handlebar mustache. It was time for baseball in Houston. The Oakland Athletics were off to a good start in the top of the fourth. Stephen Vogt tripled to score Danny Valencia to put Oakland on the board 1-0. Billy Butler singled to score Vogt for a 2-0 lead. Marcus Semien then homered to make it 3-0.
The Astros got on the board in the bottom of the fourth with Carlos Correa‘s two-run homer to center that scored Jose Altuve. It was now 3-2 Astros. But there was still a lot of baseball left, so nobody was able to predict the final score. Once again, the A’s were left with two options — to sink or swim.
The Astros began to pour in the runs in the bottom of the fifth. Marwin Gonzalez‘s RBI single tied the game 3-3. Altuve’s groundout to short scored Jason Castro to put the Astros ahead 4-3. Correa’s RBI single to center made it a 5-3 game. Luis Valbuena followed with an RBI single to left, expanding the Astros’ lead to 6-3.
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The A’s managed to pick up a run before the seventh inning stretch. With Jed Lowrie batting, a passed ball by Castro allowed Yonder Alonso to score. There was still hope for A’s fans (who deserve more) to see a good rally that would at least force extra innings. The stakes were pretty high, but in the end, the Astros ended up taking the ballgame.
Don’t mean to sound like a millennial (even though I am one!), but that ninth inning though. Alonso’s two-run homer brought the A’s within one. The A’s grabbed a 8-7 lead after Khris Davis doubled off the wall in center. Josh Reddick was thrown out at second because he tried to stretch his single, but Davis scored from third to extend the A’s lead to 9-7.
A’s closer Ryan Madson came in to try to close things out for the sake of his lackluster team. However, the initial plan backfired, as Valbuena hit a walk-off, three-run homer against Madson. The A’s just couldn’t hold on. Valbuena’s walk-off homer powered the Astros to a dramatic 10-9 win over the A’s in an intense Game 2.
“I don’t think any of this ninth inning could’ve been predicted,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch told MLB.com.
The A’s look to take a 2-1 series lead in Game 3 on Saturday at 1:10 pm PT on CSCA, RTSW.