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In shutout loss to Astros, A’s suffer another injury
- Updated: August 30, 2016
HOUSTON — Jose Altuve’s 22nd homer of the season in the sixth inning and a two-run, bases-loaded single by Alex Bregman in the seventh helped propel the Astros to their eighth win in 10 games, 6-0, over the A’s in Monday night’s series opener at Minute Maid Park.
With the win, the Astros moved to within two games of the Orioles for the second Wild Card spot in the American League.
• Wild Card standings
“Obviously, through five or six innings, we had done just enough to have the lead, but neither team had swung the bats with any authority,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “Altuve’s homer was a big tack-on run and the three-run inning where Bregman breaks it open is what good offenses do when you get the opportunity. I was proud of our guys to hang in there, and our pitching staff did a really good job of not letting them score.”
Astros rookie starter Joe Musgrove (2-2) bounced back from a pair of subpar starts by holding the A’s scoreless for 5 1/3 innings despite battling control issues. A’s starter Sean Manaea (5-9) left the game in the fourth after only 61 pitches with a muscle strain in his upper back.
The Astros took a 2-0 lead in the second on consecutive two-out, bases-loaded walks by Jake Marisnick and George Springer which followed a pair of fielding errors by Oakland third baseman Ryon Healy. Altuve’s homer in the sixth made it 3-0, and the Astros scored three times in the seventh on Bregman’s two-run single and an RBI single by Carlos Correa.
“He was fine,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said of Manaea’s performance. “He walked a couple guys with the bases loaded, but we didn’t do him any favors with the field, could’ve been out of the inning. I thought he was pitching fine. It looked like he had good life on his heater and his slider’s been good and his changeup. Just didn’t do him any favors.”
It was the Astros’ sixth shutout victory and the A’s ninth shutout loss. Houston has now scored 62 runs in its past 10 games, leading the Majors in runs per game (6.20) …
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