Oakland 4, Houston 3
When: 2:10 PM ET, Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Where: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas
Temperature:
Indoors
Umpires:
Home -
Jordan Baker, 1B -
Tim McClelland, 2B -
Mark Wegner, 3B -
Marvin Hudson
Attendance:
24831
By SportsDirect Inc.
Athletics 4, Astros 3: Coco Crisp belted a two-run homer in the seventh inning and A.J. Griffin struck out eight as visiting Oakland defeated Houston for the 11th time in 12 meetings this season.
John Jaso homered among his two hits and Eric Sogard had an RBI double in the three-run seventh as the American League West-leading Athletics won for the third time in four games.
After Carlos Corporan's towering two-run shot in the sixth staked the Astros to a 3-1 advantage, Oakland responded swiftly in the following frame. Sogard trimmed the deficit by plating Seth Smith with a double off starter Bud Norris before Crisp greeted reliever Travis Blackley (1-1) by launching an 0-1 fastball over the wall in left field for his 10th homer - and first since June 21.
The uprising made a winner out of Griffin (9-7), who posted his fourth victory in five decisions after allowing three runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings. Two relievers bridged the gap to Ryan Cook, who retired all four batters he faced to secure his second save.
Jose Altuve homered to lead off the fourth inning for the Astros, who failed to build off Tuesday's spirited 5-4 triumph and fell to 2-16 all-time against the Athletics.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Jaso opened the scoring in the first inning after depositing a 3-2 fastball from Norris over the wall in left field for his third homer. Altuve answered in the fourth before Corporan gave Houston a 3-1 lead by jumping on an 0-1 slider from Griffin for his sixth homer. ... Houston altered two-thirds of its outfield as CF Justin Maxwell and RF Marc Krauss were inserted into the lineup. Maxwell played in place of Brandon Barnes, who exited Tuesday's game with a strained left calf. Krauss saw action in place of J.D. Martinez, who left Tuesday's tilt with a back injury. ... Oakland opens a 10-game homestand on Thursday by beginning a four-game set versus the Los Angeles Angels. Houston opens a 10-game road trip on Thursday by beginning a four-game series with Toronto.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Oakland |
|
Houston |
A.J. Griffin
|
Player |
Bud Norris
|
Win |
W/L |
No Decision |
6.1 |
IP |
6.1 |
8 |
Strikeouts |
7 |
6 |
Hits |
4 |
4.26 |
ERA |
4.26 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
Oakland
|
6 |
2 |
15 |
.182 |
14 |
10 |
4 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
Houston
|
7 |
2 |
14 |
.206 |
11 |
11 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |