Record tying day for McCullers lead to Astros 5-3 win

A late-game Dezenzo home run sparks Astros comeback

After a domination of the A’s yesterday, it wasn’t till late in the game today that the Astros were able to even take a lead.

They didn’t take their first lead of the game till the bottom of the seventh inning when two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Victor Caratini, who hit a ball sharply on the ground to the center fielder, scoring two and putting the Houston Astros up 5-3.

The Athletics got themselves on the board first in the top of the third after a leadoff walk and back-to-back two-out doubles put them up, but the Astros quickly tied the game back up. A sac-fly from Isaac Parades in the bottom of the third and an RBI-single from Cam Smith in the bottom of the fourth turned the game right back around, tying it 2-2.

That tie was quickly broken though when the A’s took their lead right back in the top of the fifth when Jacob Wilson took a 2-1 slider in the top of the zone into the Crawford Boxes to give the A’s back a 3-2 lead.

McCullers Jr. led the pitching staff in this one, leaving the game down one run but racked up the most strikeouts in an outing he has had since the last time he faced the A’s back in 2022.

Lance McCullers Jr.’s final line:

6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 12 K, 102-69 (TP-S)

The Astros couldn’t knot the game back up until the bottom of the seventh till a game-tying home run came off the bat of eight-hole hitter Zach Dezenzo, who put a 2-1 cutter up by the home run pump in Daikin and tied the game up.

After getting the lead, it was all they needed for their bullpen to close out the game, getting one inning from Bryan Abreu and one from Josh Hader to close out the game for the Astros 30th win of the year and bringing them within a game of the Mariners for first in the AL West.

This outing, although taking the loss, was a huge sign for McCullers, who hadn’t pitched since 2022 before this season. Not only was this game the longest he had gone since October 15, 2022 against the Seattle Mariners, where he also went six innings in what ended up as an 18 inning game, but he also threw over 100 pitches for the first time this year and tied his career high in strikeouts dating back to a 2018 outing against the Chicago White Sox.

Another note: Christian Walker was hit in the fingers by a pitch from A’s starter Luis Severino in the bottom of the fourth. While he stayed in the game to play defence after, when his turn came up to hit, he was replaced by Mauricio Dubón in the bottom of the sixth.

The Astros stay at home and kick off a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays tomorrow, with the first game starting at 7:10 CST at Daikin Park.