Sound of victory: boom, boom, boom
OAKLAND, Calif. — No Astros player has hit 40 home runs in a season since Lance Berkman smashed 45 in 2006. George Springer is on pace to end that drought this season.
Springer launched his 20th homer of the year in the Astros’ 4-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night. He became the first Astros player to reach that mark before the AllStar break since Berkman (22) and Carlos Lee (21) each did in 2008.
Across the majors, only Aaron Judge (23), Logan Morrison (21) and Cody Bellinger (21) have hit more homers than Springer, who set a career high last year with 29. He hit Monday’s to the opposite field at the Coliseum in the eighth inning off John Axford.
Jake Marisnick and Derek Fisher also went deep Monday. Marisnick broke a scoreless tie with a 440foot, two-run blast in the fifth off A’s starter Daniel Gossett. His homer was his ninth, matching the career high he set in 2015.
Fisher launched his second big league homer in the ninth off Josh Smith.
Brad Peacock struck out eight in 52⁄3 innings, improving his strikeout per nine total to an eye-popping 13.30 through 442⁄3 innings on the season. He pitched five scoreless before unraveling some in the sixth.
After opening the sixth with a strikeout of Adam Rosales, Peacock gave up a one-out double to Matt Joyce and walked Chad Pinder. He then surrendered a double to Jed Lowrie to the gap in right-center field. It would have tied the game if not for the defense of Springer, who cut off the ball from bouncing to the wall, and shortstop Carlos Correa, who uncorked a long relay throw to nab Pinder at the plate.
Peacock followed by walking Khris Davis for Yonder Alonso. Will Harris entered to handle Alonso and came back out to pitch a scoreless seventh. Chris Devenski struck out two in a perfect eighth and Ken Giles converted his 17th save with a clean ninth.