Oakland A's Swept Away By Surging Houston Astros, 6-5
OAKLAND (AP) — Evan Gattis homered twice, catcher Jason Castro threw out a runner to end the game and the contending Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 6-5 on Wednesday to complete a sweep.
The Astros began the day two games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild-card spot.
Oakland scored on second baseman Jose Altuve's fielding error with two outs in the ninth inning to pull within 6-5. Castro then threw out pinch runner Arismendy Alcantara trying to steal second, and the call was upheld on a replay review.
Collin McHugh (12-10) won his fifth straight decision, allowing two runs and six hits over 5 2-3 innings. Five relievers combined to record the final 10 outs, with former A's setup man Luke Gregerson retiring three batters for his 15th save.
Gattis reached 30 homers. He hit a two-run drive in the sixth off Daniel Mengden (2-8) for a 4-1 lead and connected again in the eighth.
Carlos Correa had two hits, including an RBI double, and Altuve singled twice and scored a run. Gattis homered for third time in three days to finish the three-game sweep.
The Astros scored their first run without a hit in the fifth inning and added three more in the sixth.
Altuve, the AL's leading hitter, had a one-out single and scored the go-ahead run on Correa's double. Gattis followed with a home run.
Gattis' homer in the eighth was a towering shot that hit off the façade underneath the luxury suites in center field.
Danny Valencia singled and scored twice for the A's. Oakland has lost the first three games on its final homestand after an impressive 6-1 road trip.
MENGDEN WEARS DOWN
Mengden needed only 26 pitches to get through the first three innings and didn't give up a hit until Yuli Gurriel's one-out single in the fourth before things quickly unraveled. He allowed four runs over 5 2-3 innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.
SEPTEMBER STRONG
McHugh won for the third time in four starts this month and improved to 11-0 in September since 2014.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros: OF Colby Rasmus missed his third straight game because of "a lot of different" physical issues, according to manager A.J. Hinch. Rasmus missed 23 games earlier this season after undergoing surgery to remove a cyst in his right ear. . Preston Tucker was scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder Wednesday and the team is confident the outfielder will be healed in time for spring training.
Athletics: OF Khris Davis missed his second straight game after being a late scratch Tuesday because of an illness. . Reliever J.B. Wendelken will seek a second opinion on his right elbow but manager Bob Melvin indicated it's likely Wendelken will undergo Tommy John surgery.
UP NEXT
Astros: RHP Mike Fiers (11-7) faces the Angels in Anaheim on Thursday in the opener of a four-game series. Fiers has a 4.06 ERA over his previous 19 starts.
Athletics: Kendall Graveman (10-10) starts against Texas on Friday at the Coliseum. The right-hander is winless since Aug. 24.
