Hendriks, A's Let Late Lead Slip Away In 4-3 Loss To Astros
HOUSTON (AP) - Liam Hendriks took all the responsibility for letting a late lead slip away.
And it was a pitch that got away really cost the Oakland Athletics.
Evan Gattis hit an RBI single to cap a three-run rally in the eighth inning keyed by a wild pitch on a strikeout, leading the Houston Astros over Oakland 4-3 Wednesday.
Hendriks entered in the eighth with a 3-1 lead, thanks in large part to a brilliant performance from starter Ross Detwiler. Soon after that, the A's were trailing.
"That was all on me," Hendriks said. "Bad pitches, I hung some stuff. I got some good pitches in there early but then wasn't able to finish them late. Just wasn't able to pull it off and that's completely on me."
Hendriks (0-3) got two quick outs in the eighth before George Springer tripled. Alex Bregman then struck out, but the pitch got loose.
Catcher Bruce Maxwell chased the ball to the backstop and made a desperation throw to first, but Bregman beat the throw by a step as Springer scored.
Jose Altuve tripled home the tying run and Gattis singled for the lead.
After being swept by Houston, the Athletics have lost 12 of their last 18 games.
Detwiler gave up three hits and struck out seven. He had given up 14 runs and 23 hits in his previous three starts.
"Ross was dominant out there today," Hendriks said. "It's a shame we weren't able to pull this one off for him."
"That's the best I've seen him out there today. He was dotting up, he was getting into good counts, he was throwing good pitches to get guys out. Unfortunately, we weren't able to hold it for him and that's all on me," he said.
Carlos Correa hit an RBI double for the only run off Detwiler.
"It's baseball," Detwiler said. "It's a tough game and it's always tough to win on the road. If one ball bounces this way or one ball bounces that way then it's a completely different series. They just didn't bounce our way right now and that's what happens."
Michael Feliz (8-1) pitched a scoreless eighth. Ken Giles closed for his seventh save.
The A's got all three of their runs in the second off Mike Fiers. Jake Smolinski hit a two-run triple and Maxwell had a sacrifice fly.
"If we end up winning this game here we end up 3-3 on the trip," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "We played well in St. Louis and didn't play as well here. Going into the eighth, we had a chance to win this game, so that makes it disappointing."
After officially announcing the trade of outfielder Coco Crisp to Cleveland earlier in the day, the A's called up Joey Wendle from Triple-A. In his major league debut, he went 0 for 4 and scored a run.
"I thought he had some good at-bats," Melvin said. "Just missed the curveball in the right-center field gap when he flew out there. I thought he looked good, thought he looked comfortable."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Athletics: LHP Sean Manaea (sore back) will miss his next scheduled start on Sunday. He left his start last Monday vs. Houston in the fourth inning. Kendall Graveman, who allowed three runs in seven innings in a loss to the Astros on Tuesday night, will start in place of Manaea.
UP NEXT
Athletics: RHP Andrew Triggs (1-1, 4.39 ERA) starts at home against Boston on Friday. He picked up his first career win in his last start, allowing four hits and three runs while striking out eight in six innings vs. St. Louis.
VOGT GETTING HOT
Stephen Vogt tied a season high with three hits. He leads AL catchers with nine games of three or more hits. In 14 games against Houston this season, Vogt is hitting .400 with eight doubles, a triple and a home run.
HEALY'S STREAK
3B Ryon Healy extended his on-base streak to a club-high 17 games with a fifth-inning double. Healy's streak is the longest by an Athletics player since Marcus Semien closed out the 2015 season with a 23-game streak. Healy is hitting .365 with a .403 on-base percentage during the streak.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
