Manaea breaks record in rout of Astros
HOUSTON — Sean Manaea didn’t throw another no-hitter Friday, but he was superb nonetheless in setting an Oakland record, while his teammates rocked former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel.
Manaea allowed only one unearned run, while Oakland belted three homers off Keuchel in downing the defending champion Astros 8-1 at Minute Maid Park. The A’s have won nine of their past 11 games overall, and they’ve scored five wins in a row over Houston dating back to last season.
“The team is unbelievable,” Manaea said. “When the offense can do what they did tonight and we can throw some zeroes up on the board, this team is pretty awesome. We just have to keep this thing rolling.”
Manaea, who no-hit Boston on April 21, said he was just concentrating on the game plan and didn’t do anything differently.
“You’ve got to refocus and do your thing,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “And he did exactly that.”
Manaea gave up four hits in seven innings, walked one and struck out seven. The lefthander’s 1.03 ERA is the best in the American League.
“For him to not have that hangover effect and continue doing what he’s doing, stay consistent, is extremely impressive,” said outfielder Chad Pinder, whose two-run homer in the sixth snapped a 1-1 tie. “He’s been incredible for us. Honestly, he’s kind of carried us, given us momentum every time he’s taken the rubber.”
Manaea opened the game by retiring the first nine batters, then George Springer reached on an error by Marcus Semien to open the fourth, and he advanced to second on a flyball. Carlos Correa followed with a single to right that scored Springer and ended Manaea’s string of hitless innings at 14 in a row. That passed John “Blue Moon” Odom’s Oakland record for consecutive hitless innings; Odom had 13 in a row in 1968.
“Records are cool, but I still have work to do,” Manaea said.
“There have been some pretty good pitchers in Oakland history, so that’s really something,” Melvin said. “That’s something to hang his hat on. We’ve had some big-time pitchers here.”
Manaea hasn’t given up an earned run over his past 18 innings. He has given up no more than two runs in any start this season, and that happened only once.
Keuchel worked four perfect innings and retired 13 men in a row before Matt Chapman whopped a slider from Keuchel on a line into the Crawford Boxes in left, his sixth homer of the season. Chapman is 4-for-7 with two homers lifetime against Keuchel.
Pinder added a two-run shot the next inning, his first hit in 11 career at-bats against Keuchel. “That’s the first pitch he’s thrown above the middle of the zone to me,” Pinder said. “He’s had a ton of success against me. I was able to put a good swing on that slider and was pretty happy it went out.”
“The big hit for me is Pinder,” Melvin said. “It’s a tworun homer, but it feels like a 10-run homer the way Sean is pitching and the way Keuchel is pitching at the time.”
Mark Canha smacked a three-run homer in the seventh, his fourth of the year. It was the first time Keuchel had given up three homers in a game since Sept. 16, 2015.
Jed Lowrie added a two-run triple in the eighth off Joe Smith, and in the process tied his own franchise record for hits in April with 34.
The A’s have faced a lefthanded starter six times in the past seven games and they’re 5-1 vs. the lefties in that stretch after starting the season 1-5 in games started by opposing left-handers.
Manaea has taken on the mantle of the A’s No. 1 starter after Kendall Graveman’s rough start, which ultimately led to Graveman’s demotion on Thursday.
Graveman was optioned to Triple-A after opening the season with an 0-5 record and 8.89 ERA.