|
 Carter fell behind 0-2 against A's right-hander Jeff Samardzija
but battled back to a full count then stayed alive, barely fouling
off a 97-mph fastball.
Seconds later, Samardzija threw Carter another 97-mph fastball, and
Carter launched this one into the left-center-field seats for his
36th home run of the season, lifting the Astros to a 4-3 victory at
the O.co Coliseum.
"It's nice to get wins against them," said Carter, who was traded by
the A's to Houston after the 2012 season as part of a deal for
shortstop Jed Lowrie. "It's just good to beat them. It's good for
the team."
The Astros won their fifth straight game while the A's lost for the
third straight time, falling six games behind the Los Angeles Angels
in the American League West. Oakland owns the AL's top wild-card
spot, but the Seattle Mariners now hold the second spot, just two
games back. The Detroit Tigers are only 2 1/2 games behind Oakland
in the wild-card race. "We're out here playing our butts off," Samardzija said. "We
understand what's at stake and where we're at and how things are
going. We're trying to find that happy zone of not trying to press
too hard and have fun, but also understanding that we need to do
things a little differently."
 Carter moved into a tie with Miami's Giancarlo Stanford for second
place in the major leagues in home runs, one behind Baltimore's
Nelson Cruz. Carter, who hit two home runs Wednesday in Houston's
4-1 victory against the Angels, has 23 homer since the start of
July. When Carter took Samardzija deep, Astros right-hander Brett
Oberholtzer wasn't surprised.
"I actually visualized him hitting a home run," said Oberholtzer
(5-10), who allowed three runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings,
snapping his three-game losing streak. "That pitch, I swear, and it
was great. I was the first one up, hooting and hollering."
The Astros got a solo home run in the third inning from rookie first
baseman Jon Singleton. Second baseman Altuve went 2-for-4, scored
twice, stole his American-League-leading 51st base and extended his
hitting streak to a career-high-tying 12 games. Carter went 2-for-4
and drove in three runs, giving him 85 RBIs for the season.
Carter's home run Friday was his third against Samardzija this
season and seventh against the A's, and it helped Astros interim
manager Tom Lawless remain undefeated in three games since replacing
the fired Bo Porter.
"I'm going to have a heart attack pretty soon and have no hair or
gray hair, but it is fun," Lawless said.
Samardzija (4-5) gave up four runs on six hits over seven innings.
He struck out nine and didn't walk a batter, but Carter and
Singleton made him pay for leaving two fastballs up and over the
plate.
"His last three times out have been as good of stuff as we've seen,"
A's manager Bob Melvin said. "Unfortunately we just don't do enough
offensively to give him enough (support)."
Astros reliever Jose Veras got the final two outs in the seventh
inning, and Tony Sipp pitched two scoreless innings for his third
save, striking out four and allowing no hits.
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The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third on Singleton's
13th home run of the season.
Oakland answered with three runs in the third. Second baseman Alberto
Callaspo led off with an infield single -- a one-hopper that hit off of
Oberholtzer's glove and bounced away. Oberholtzer issued one-out walks
to right fielder Craig Gentry and third baseman Josh Donaldson, loading
the bases. Catcher Derek Norris blooped a single to right, driving in
Callaspo, and Gentry raced home when hard-charging right fielder Jake
Marisnick booted the ball for an error. Designated hitter Adam Dunn
increased the A's lead to 3-1 with an RBI single.
The A's loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth, but Oberholtzer
pitched his way out of the jam, getting Gentry and Donaldson to hit
back-to-back ground balls to third baseman Matt Dominguez. Dominguez
threw home for a force on Gentry's grounder then turned Donaldson's into
a home-to-first double play.
"I think that was the point in the game where it was going to make or
break us," Oberlholtzer said. "We were able to escape. That was huge."
Houston cut Oakland's lead to 3-2 with a run in the fourth inning.
Altuve lined a leadoff single, stole second base and scored on Carter's
single.
"It's always exciting to play here," Carter said. "A place I first came
up."
NOTES: A's C Stephen Vogt (sprained left ankle) will miss the entire
three-game series against Houston and possibly longer. Vogt was hurt
Wednesday while sliding against Seattle. "It's a sprain, so you won't
see him doing any baseball activity this series," A's manager Bob Melvin
said. ... Oakland CF Coco Crisp (neck strain) returned to the lineup
after missing five games. ... Astros rookie RHP Nick Tropeano, who was
called up Tuesday from Triple-A Oklahoma City to the major leagues for
the first time, will make his first big-league start Wednesday in the
series finale at Seattle. The Astros will use a six-man rotation for the
remainder of the season, interim manager Tom Lawless said. ... Astros CF
George Springer (strained left quadriceps) has been on the disabled list
since July 20, but Lawless hasn't given up hope of having him in the
lineup again this season. "I told him today there's a possibility that
maybe you play the last six games," Lawless said.
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