MidValleySports.Com

By Tim Byrnes

The last couple of seasons, the Athletics concentrated spending on the bats instead of the arms and it has begun to render expected results. Last season the struggle was real for the starting rotation, and by May the overuse of the bullpen turned into a brutal stretch where the Athletics lost 20-of-21 games.

Injuries and demotion just cost the team 3/5 of its starting rotation, and the gassed bullpen has begun to have late-inning meltdowns. Coming into Houston, the scheduled rotation was a converted reliever in his first start of the season, a recently-promoted rookie in his first career start, and another newcomer with only two career starts under his belt. The outcome was two dominant wins for Houston, and a great performance by Gage Jump to avoid an Astros sweep.

(Astros: 5-1)
After recent struggles in relief, Jack Perkins was promoted to starter, and those struggles showed immediately. Following a single by Jeremy Pena and a walk to Yordan Alvarez, Isaac Paredes hit the first pitch he saw for a home run and a 3-0 lead.

Perkins (2-3, 6.19) settled down and struck out four consecutive hitters through the 2nd-inning and looked like he was rebounding, when poor defense broke the game open.

After a single by Alvarez with 1-out in the third, Christian Walker hit a sharp single to right field, and Carlos Cortes misplayed it. The ball skipped by, scoring Alvarez, and it put Walker on 3rd-base with just one out. A Paredes RBI-sac fly made it a 5-0 lead before any response by the Athletics.

Perkins lasted just four innings, giving up five earned runs, walking two, and striking out six Astros. Recently promoted Mason Barnett pitched fours innings of one-hit relief, with seven strikeouts.

The only scoring by the Athletics was a Brent Rooker solo-shot in the 6th-inning, and the rest of the “top of the order” went 0-14. Henry Bolte went 3-for-4 with a double in the loss.

(Astros: 13-2)
In his first career start, Kade Morris served up home runs to LaMonte Wade Jr, Jose Altuve, and Alvarez hit a grand-slam as Morris gave up nine earned runs in just four innings.

The A’s continued to struggle at the plate, with an RBI-single by Tyler Soderstrom, and a walk with bases loaded by Zack Gelof later in the inning, as the only two runs they could generate.

Jose Suarez inherited 2-on, nobody out from Morris (0-1, 20.25) in the 5th-inning, and gave up “walk-double<groundout>single-double-double”, to give Houston an insurmountable 13-2 lead.

Elvis Alvarado was recently promoted from AAA Las Vegas, and he had a scoreless 6th and 7th-innings for the A’s, allowing only a double. Everyday player Carlos Cortes saved the bullpen by pitching a 1-2-3 8th-inning, his second appearance of the season without allowing a run.

(Athletics: 5-0)
The Athletics bats woke up in the finale, and rookie Gage Jump scattered three hits over 6 1/3 innings to help the A’s avoid a sweep. 61-Jump Street (2-1, 2.45), as Jump is now referred, controlled batters all day by getting ahead on (0-2) counts eight times during the start. He lasted until one out in the seventh, when Cam Smith singled, and a subsequent walk ended his day.

Justin Sterner finished the inning for Jump, getting ahead (0-2) to both batters he faced. Mark Leiter Jr had a 1-2-3 8th-inning with two k’s, and Hogan Harris preserved the shutout with a scoreless ninth. Leiter Jr was up (0-2) in the count to the first two batters he faced, for a great day for the pitching staff in controlling the at-bats.

It was a 3-3 road trip for the Athletics but the batting average against the Cubs and Astros was an anemic (.206). Athletics SS Jacob Wilson is rehabbing with the Aviators, and contributing immediately so the team may see him as early as June 12th. and they need his bat badly.

Next: Brewers @ Athletics, 6/8 7:05pm pst; Sutter Health Park West Sacramento