After sweep, Astros await
HOUSTON — After the last time the A’s got red-hot, taking four games from the Yankees on their most recent homestand, the Astros doused them thoroughly, sweeping a four-game series.
Now, coming off the team’s first road sweep of the season, Oakland must face first-place Houston again in a three-game set that opens Tuesday night.
“It’s the same thing. We swept the Yankees, then had the Astros — and we know what happened,” infielder Adam Rosales said in Chicago after the A’s finished their three-game sweep of the White Sox. “Then we come here and sweep the Sox . ... I think it’s like we get a second chance against the Astros. They’re a tough team. We’re hoping to play good baseball like we did here.”
Oakland is 1-8 against the Astros, 17½ games back in the AL West.
“We’ve had a tough time with them obviously,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We have a lot of momentum, but based on last time ... We had (won) four in a row.”
Even with the sweep of the White Sox, the A’s are 12-25 on the road, the worst mark in the league, as they prepare to play at Minute Maid Park. “The road has been a serious problem for us, but we have a little different group here too,” Melvin said.
“It’s no secret we’ve struggled on the road,” A’s pitcher Sonny Gray said Sunday after recording his first win in a month. “Guys in the clubhouse are aware, we’re smarter than people think sometimes.” Scouting Gray: Among the clubs with multiple executives and scouts at Gray’s start Sunday were the Cubs, Blue Jays, Mariners and Braves, while the Red Sox had one scout there. Some non-contenders looking ahead to next year have interest in Gray because he has two more years of team control.
Some of the teams in attendance also are scouting infielder Jed Lowrie, who is all but certain to be dealt before the July 31 deadline. Boston, Lowrie’s first bigleague team, is a club that is likely to have interest.
Injury report: Marcus Semien, on a rehab assignment as he returns from a wrist injury, played six innings at shortstop for Class A Stockton. He went 0-for-2 with an RBI and is 4-for-10 in three games with the Ports.