The Houston Astros continued to struggle on the road on Thursday afternoon, losing their fourth game to the Oakland A’s since Monday night by the score of 3-1.
It was a pitcher’s duel between Jose Urquidy and Sean Manaea for much of the contest with neither team being able to get on the board until the top of the sixth when Martin Maldonado grounded into a double play that scored Josh Reddick. That lead didn’t last long though with Matt Olson drilling one out to right field for a two-run bomb.
Andre Scrubb took over for Urquidy in the bottom of the seventh and his outing was far from ideal with a leadoff walk that wound up turning into a bases-loaded situation before Brad Peacock came in to try and limit the damage. However, he walked Marcus Semien to take a 3-1 lead.
With Houston’s loss on Thursday, it has seemingly locked up the AL West Division for Bob Melvin and the A’s. The Astros will look to bounce back after a day off on Friday when they take on the Los Angeles Dodgers with first pitch on Saturday set for 7:10 pm.