Athletics Lose Opportunity to Create Big Space in West Despite Olson's 100th homer

The Oakland Athletics were close to pushing second-place Houston to the edge when the A's took a 4-0 lead on the strength of Matt Olson's 100th career homer in the nightcap of Tuesday's doubleheader after having won the first game. But the A's offense stalled there, the bullpen struggled and the Astros clawed their way back for a split.

The A’s lost a chance to push the Houston Astros to the brink in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader.

Oakland owned a 4-0 lead after three innings with a proven bullpen rested in a game that was only going to last seven innings, as doubleheader games do these days.

But an usually poor bullpen performance, an error and an offense that didn’t do much over the final four innings led to Houston escaping a doubleheader sweep with a 5-4 win. Oakland won the opener 4-2.

“We had a lead, and we just couldn’t hold it,” manager Bob Melvin said. “In a seven-inning game, we felt pretty good about where we were. But we didn’t do enough offensively after we gave up some runs.”

So, the A’s hit the two-thirds mark of the 60-game season with a 25-15 record, good for a 4½-game lead over the second-place Astros in the American League West. Had they won, however, the lead would have been 6½ games.

“We didn’t lose any ground; they’re a good team,” first baseman Matt Olson said. It was Olson’s three-run homer in the third, the 100th home run of his career, that built the A’s lead to 4-0. “We’ve still got two games left. Hopefully we’ll win the next two.”

Newly acquired left-handed starter Mike Minor pitched three scoreless innings allowing just two base runners. That made what followed somewhat unexpected. Two hits, one of them an infield single and a walk loaded the bases, and Minor was out of the game when he hit Carlos Correa with a pitch, forcing in a run.

Yusmeiro Petit came on, and after getting a fly ball for the second out, walked two batters in a row before an infield hit tied the game. Just like that, the Astros had four runs while only getting one hit to make it as far as the infield.

“You know, you’re not going to be perfect all the time,” Melvin said. “He’s been so good in that role so many times for us over the years. Every now and then, you’re not going to get it done.”

Houston took advantage of a Vimael Machin error at shortstop to score a run in the seventh give the Astros the win, keeping Houston 4½ games behind the A’s in the American League West instead of the 6½ games that would have been the differential had Oakland won.

Machin and third baseman Chad Pinder, both backups with Marcus Semien sitting the second game out and Matt Chapman sidelined for perhaps the entire series, seem to miscommunicate on the grounder hit by George Springer in the top of the seventh. J.B. Wendelken, who has 11 consecutive scoreless innings over nine games, did what he could after his defense put him on the spot, but an infield single, a walk and a sacrifice fly produced a run the A’s were unable to match.

Two-thirds of the way through the season with just games Wednesday and Thursday left against three-time defending AL West champion Houston, Oakland is one of just six big league teams 10 or more games over .500.

And their 4½ game lead over the Astros is the biggest margin owned by any of the six division leaders.

NOTES:

--Semien played in the opener got the nightcap off after having not played in a game since Aug. 29 because of left side pain. He should be in the lineup Wednesday.

--Stephen Piscotty was in the original lineup for the opener, but a left wrist issue led to him being scratched. He didn’t play in Game 2 either, and his status for Wednesday is up in the air.

--Olson said he knew his next homer would be his 100th, but he said he forgot it in the moment before being reminded. “It’s a cool milestone,” Olson said. “I kind of forgot in the moment, trying to put a good at-bat together.”

Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3

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