Pinder helps rally A’s past Astros
Oakland avoids elimination with nine-run outburst
LOS ANGELES — Ramón Laureano sensed his teammates’ energy dragging. They were down three runs with time running out to save their season.
So the Oakland outfielder lit into them in the dugout during the sixth inning, getting so loud he was heard easily in mostly empty Dodger Stadium.
And just in case Laureano’s words did not get the message across, he ripped a double as the A’s got a pair of sacrifice flies in the eighth to rally past the Houston Astros 9-7 on Wednesday and avoid elimination in their AL Division Series.
“We live another day,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said.
Suitably inspired by Laureano’s outburst, Chad Pinder tied the score with a three-run homer in the seventh before Sean Murphy hit the go-ahead sac fly in the eighth.
“Ramón got everything fired up, saying this wasn’t it, we’re not going to let it be our last game, we’re gone through too much this season,” Pinder said. “It was awesome.”
Houston leads the best-offive series 2-1 and can advance to its fourth straight AL Championship Series with a victory in Game 4 today.
“There’s never a doubt in this team,” Oakland starter Jesús Luzardo said. “We can go ahead and win three in a row.”
The Astros wasted leads of 2-1 and 7-4, and the
Athletics bounced back after giving up advantages of 1-0 and 4-2.
Houston’s bullpen had stifled Oakland in the first two games with seven shutout innings of one-hit relief, but Pinder ended that dominance.
Houston led 7-4 when Marcus Semien and Tommy La Stella had back-toback singles off Josh James starting the seventh. Pinder hit a first-pitch slider to the opposite field for Oakland’s fifth homer, a drive chased by right fielder Kyle Tucker until he ran out of room at the short wall.
La Stella, Mark Canha, Matt Olson and Semien also homered for the A’s, whose entire infield went deep. Teams outhomering opponents are 18-0 in the postseason.
“They beat us with the home run ball,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “Tough to take but we have to come back tomorrow.”
The teams have combined for 18 homers — including seven in Game 3 — in the neutral-site series at Dodger Stadium featuring all day games. After two straight days in the 90s, the temperature cooled to 81 degrees.