WINNING WEEKEND
Despite dropping finale, Oakland shows it can compete with series win vs. Houston
OAKLAND >> A four-game sweep of one of the best teams in baseball seemed unlikely.
On the hill for the Astros: Zack Greinke, acquired as the final trade deadline seconds ticked off to add deception and finesse to a
powerful and devastating Houston rotation. In the visitor’s dugout yet again: a great team with more talent than just the ability to pump the breaks on a five-game skid.
Greinke stifled the A’s with a high-80s fastball that was nearly interchangeable with a mid-80s changeup and fall-off-the-table curveball, and Alex Bregman was the one-man wrecking crew the Astros needed. A’s starter Brett Anderson served up a juicy 0-2 slider he wanted back-foot and in the dirt, but Bregman deposited in the left-field seats for a three-run home run in the fifth inning, securing the Astros’ 4-1 win Sunday afternoon.
A four-game sweep certainly seemed within reason, though — a feat that at least got it’s most revealing peak when Marcus Semien
hit a solo home run off Greinke’s 3-2 fastball to give the A’s a lead in the fourth inning.
Anderson left in the sixth inning with a runner on and a blister flare (he said he would be OK), but wove his way through some jams, including a pair of shallow pop ups with one out and runners on third. The Astros clearly knew they’d need to rack up the runs, but Chad Pinder, in right field, chopped down a gutsy Jose Altuve gunning for home in the first inning.
But, perhaps despite the loss, the A’s already made a substantial statement. Oakland entered the home series with a 2-9 record against their AL West foes. A decent showing against the division’s unspoken gatekeeper could separate them from scary wild-card contenders to completely formidable American League competitors.
Each win displayed some of the A’s best looks.
Night one, the A’s outslugged the Astros. Night two, they outlasted them. Day three, they out-small-balled them.
Justin Verlander took the mound Friday with a sub-2.00 ERA at the Oakland Coliseum and Tanner Roark matched his efficiency blow for blow, inning by inning. A bullpen, struggling to keep leads intact and trying regain its 2018 confidence, pitched seven shutout innings to pave the path for a 13-inning marathon victory. And Chris Bassitt, once on the rotational bubble, showed the national audience his strikeout-worthy curveball and mettle Saturday.
And, perhaps most notably, the offense put up 19 runs against a pitching staff with a collective 3.76 ERA (good for fourth-best in the majors).
“Four-game sweep is pretty tough, especially against a team like that,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Come tomorrow when you look at three out of four, it’s a plus.”
Today’s off day will be key for an exhausted bullpen — the A’s were down three relievers, including Yusmeiro Petit and perhaps Blake Treinen — and sandwiches a big series against the New York Yankees that could really test the A’s postseason potential.