The Astros dropped the series to the A’s, losing the second of three games 6-0 on Wednesday. This is not the fifth loss in a row for the Astros and the third game where they fail to score at least two runs.
This is not a playoff team.
For the fifth game in a row, the Astros allowed their opponent to score first after an RBI-double in the third put the Athletics up 1-0 early on Houston. In those five games, the Astros are 1-4, with the four losses coming in the last four games.
They continued to pour it on the Astros in the fifth inning, adding another three runs and taking a 4-0 lead. Up to this point, the Astros had only had two base runners the whole game, one of them being a leadoff walk to Jose Altuve to start the game.
By the time the Astros got their third hit of the game, rain was coming down in Sacramento. It was also around that time that the A’s added on two more runs on back-to-back pitches taken for solo-shots, extending the A’s lead to 6-0.
After that point, the Astros didn’t stand a chance.
Meanwhile on the mound, in his final start of the season, Hunter Brown put together his worst start since mid-July, when he allowed three earned runs to the Mariners. Since then, Brown had gone 10-straight starts without allowing more than two earned runs.
That streak was broken tonight.
Hunter Brown’s final line:
5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 86-49 TP-S
Brown finishes the regular season with a 2.43 ERA, 185.1 IP and 206 strikeouts. That now enters the top-10 for the lowest ERA in a season in franchise history.
Once Brown was done, Espada gave the ball first to Steven Okert, and after giving the team a clean inning, he gave the ball next to Bryan King. The two of them are tied for second on the team in appearances this year with 67 each.
King was not his usual self though, allowing two solo-shots in his one inning of work. This is the first time King has given up more than one run for the first time since August 4th.
The Astros had a chance to do something in the top of the ninth, putting two men in scoring position for the first time in the series, but they couldn’t do anything with it, dropping the game 6-0 and losing their second to last series of the season.
Meanwhile, with the Mariners win against the Colorado Rockies, they have clinched the AL West division, something the Astros have done seven out of the last eight years, with the one year being the 2020 COVID season. This also marks the first time the Mariners have won the division since the 2001 season.
The Astros have one last game against the A’s on Thursday, with first pitch at 12:35 p.m.
