Astros let 6-run lead slip away as AL West cushion vanishes

HOUSTON -- If the Astros miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year -- something they haven’t done in more than a decade -- they can look back on a nine-game homestand in late August that presented a prime opportunity for them to pad their division lead.

Christian Walker’s dramatic walk-off homer in the 10th inning to beat the Mariners on Aug. 14 got the homestand off to a rollicking start, but the Astros won only twice more in eight games against three teams with sub-.500 records. They bottomed out Sunday by losing a series to the woeful A’s, who rallied from six runs down to stun the Astros, 7-6, at Daikin Park.

“You can't take anybody lightly or take anybody for granted,” Walker said. “That being said, we should be disappointed in the way we played, regardless of who's across the field from us. We're a better team than that. Holding the leads, scoring runs late, we're capable of all those things, so we’re disappointed in ourselves regardless of who's on the field with us.”

It was the first time since May 27, 2011, against the D-backs that the Astros blew a six-run lead at home and lost.

“It’s not easy to take it, especially when the guys are showing up every day to the field prepared in the right way,” said Astros bench coach Omar López, who managed the game in place of manager Joe Espada, who was away from the team due to a family emergency.

“It could be frustrating, but the biggest lesson we have is we’ve been grinding all year long. We’ve been working really hard, and sometimes this game can give you some unfair stuff that we’ve got to figure out where to find a way to be consistent, and fix this area and go to the next area and next area. We only have [31] games left, and I know the guys are committed to put their best foot forward to get better results more consistently.”

The loss dropped Houston (65-66) back under .500 for the first time since it was 54-55 on July 28. The Astros’ cushion atop the American League West, which reached three games following the Aug. 14 win over Seattle, is gone. The Astros and Rangers are tied atop the AL West, though Houston owns the tiebreaker.

“Nobody expected us to lose these last two series, but the only thing remaining is to just raise your head high and just go out there and confront the next series we have and activate our playoff mode basically,” said Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, who was intentionally walked three times to set the franchise record for most in a season with 28, surpassing Jeff Bagwell's 27 in 1997.

The Astros jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, capped by a two-run homer by Jose Altuve. A bases-loaded walk to Altuve in the second made it 4-0, and Isaac Paredes slammed a two-run homer in the fourth to put Houston ahead, 6-0. The good times didn’t last.

Astros starter Cristian Javier gave three runs back in the fifth on a three-run homer by nine-hole hitter Brian Serven that cut the lead in half. Enyel De Los Santos relieved him and allowed three more runs in the fifth, including a two-run single by Tommy White that tied the game at 6, before Max Muncy hit a solo homer off Steven Okert in the seventh.

Houston’s bullpen, which has been so reliable since May 1, allowed seven runs in 8 1/3 innings in the final two games against the A’s.

“One of the best areas we’ve been having all year is our bullpen and the last two nights didn’t go our way, and we have to turn the page and reset tomorrow and start a long stretch of 13 games [without a day off],” López said.

Beginning with this week’s series against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, 20 of the Astros’ final 31 games will come against teams that are currently in a postseason spot or within two games, including three first-place clubs: the White Sox, Rays and Braves.

“As far as the schedule getting tougher, good,” Walker said. “Let’s prep for the postseason. I think we need to handle these last five weeks, this last month, and get in the headspace of, ‘Every at-bat matters, every pitch matters.’ If we want to win a World Series, and that's the goal this year, I think we need to use this little bit of a runway to challenge ourselves against really good teams and come through in big moments.”