|
 Valencia hit a solo home run in the fourth inning and a walk-off
single with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth, leading the
Oakland Athletics to a 5-4 victory against the Houston Astros.
Since being claimed off waivers from Toronto on Aug. 3, Valencia has
gone 7-for-16 (.438) with two doubles, two homers and four RBIs.
"We got a gift-wrapped present from Toronto, I promise you that,"
said A's right-hander Chris Bassitt, who allowed one run over 6 2/3
innings. "My goodness. How he got (designated for assignment) is
shocking to every single person on this team, including coaches."
The walk-off hit was Valencia's fifth of his career.
After the A's scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to take a 3-1
lead, the Astros rallied to take a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth
on right fielder Colby Rasmus' three-run homer off A's closer Edward
Mujica.
Oakland answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning against
Astros closer Luke Gregerson, a former Athletic.
First baseman Mark Canha led off with an infield single, beating out
a ground ball to shortstop Carlos Correa, then moved to third on
catcher Josh Phegley's single to right. Gregerson struck out
shortstop Marcus Semien. But after falling behind 3-0 to center
fielder Billy Burns he issued an intentional walk, loading the
bases.
With two outs, right fielder Josh Reddick hit a comebacker that
bounced off Gregerson for an RBI single, driving in Canha to tie the
game 4-4 and bringing Valencia to the plate.
"It wasn't hit very hard, but just enough to catch me off-guard, and
it hit off the wrist," Gregerson said.
Valencia got ahead 2-1 in the count and drilled a single down the
left field line, bringing Phegley home.
"Throughout that inning he was spiking his fastball a lot," Valencia
said. "That really is his bread and butter, so I was going to look
for an off-speed pitch. He threw me one first pitch that was good to
hit, but I don't know if I was quite ready for it. Luckily he threw
it again and he left it over the plate and I was able to get enough
of it to shoot it in the outfield."
The A's beat the first-place Astros for the third straight time and
took three of four games in the series. The A's moved to within 10
games of Houston in the American League West, their smallest deficit
since July20.
"We're just going to battle," Phegley said. "It's not over, and
we're still trying to win games."
Houston has lost six of the first seven games on their nine-game
road trip.
"Every loss is bad, especially with all these close games," Astros
manager A.J. Hinch said. "We've had a rough week."
[to top of second column] |
Bassitt allowed just three hits, struck out a career-high 10 and
threw a career-high 112 pitches. He threw his seventh straight gem
since being recalled July 25 from Triple-A Nashville for the fourth
time this season.
With the game tied 1-1, the A's rallied to score twice in the eighth
inning. Phegley worked a leadoff walk against right-handed reliever
Will Harris and moved to third when Semien lined an opposite field
single to right. Burns brought Phegley home with a sharp single to
left, giving Oakland a 2-1 lead.
Astros left-hander Tony Sipp came on and retired the first batter he
faced, but Reddick sliced an RBI double to left.
Mujica got into trouble quickly in the ninth. Center fielder Carlos
Gomez hit a leadoff single to left and moved to third on third
baseman Jed Lowrie's single, bringing Rasmus to the plate. He
launched Mujica's 91 mph fastball high and deep into the right field
seats.
"It didn't turn out to be a big hit," Rasmus said of his 14th home
run. "That's part of the game. They played us tough. I feel we'll
turn things around."
Astros right-hander Mike Fiers made his first start for the Astros
since coming to Houston from Milwaukee on July 30 in a trade and
held the A's to one run on five hits over 6 2/3 innings in a
no-decision.
Valencia put Oakland ahead 1-0 with his homer in the fourth. The
Rangers pulled even with a run in the sixth. Second baseman Jose
Altuve lined a one-out single to center. Then with two outs,
shortstop Carlos Correa hit an RBI double to left-center.
NOTES: Astros LHP Oliver Perez, who was acquired from Arizona on
Friday night in a trade, was activated Sunday and retired the only
batter he faced in the seventh inning. ... Houston 1B Chris Carter
made his second straight start, this one at DH, and went 0-for-3 as
his average dipped to .180. ... Oakland LF Coco Crisp, who left
Saturday's game following the second inning after having a nauseous
reaction to medication, was in the lineup again Sunday. ... A's LHP
Sean Doolittle (strained left shoulder) threw a bullpen session in
Oakland on Sunday and will make his second rehab appearance on
Tuesday, this time for Triple-A Nashville. He pitched a scoreless
inning Friday for Class A Stockton.
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