HOUSTON -- As much trouble as the Astros are having scoring runs this month, they have little room for error in other facets in the game, specifically defense and pitching. In the late innings of a tight game, every pitch is magnified and every play could mean the difference between winning and losing.
The eighth inning of Saturday’s 4-3 gut-punch loss to the Athletics was one the Astros let slip away, squandering a lead after the seventh inning for only the fourth time this year. The A’s scored three times in the eighth against reliever Bennett Sousa to send Houston to its fifth loss in the eighth game of a nine-game homestand against sub-.500 teams.
Not ideal.
Because of that, the Rangers (64-66) remain one game back of the American League West-leading Astros (65-65), who own the tiebreaker over Texas, but the Mariners (62-68) walked off the Cubs and are only three games back. Seattle has the tiebreaker over Houston.
After scoring twice in the seventh to take a 3-1 lead, Astros manager Joe Espada gave the ball to Sousa in what normally might have been a spot for high-leverage lefty Steven Okert, who Espada said postgame was unavailable. Sousa faced four hitters to start the eighth inning, three of whom scored to put the A’s on top, 4-3.
The winning run scored on a ground ball off the bat of Jonah Heim, which was hit to Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña. With Lawrence Butler racing from third on contact, Peña initially looked toward home before settling for the out at first. Butler slid unchallenged across the plate to put the A’s up for good.
The fact the infield was in was a sign Peña should have thrown home to try to get the speedy Butler. Heim’s grounder over the pitcher’s mound had an exit velocity of only 68.5 mph, which bought Butler more time, but he appeared to be only halfway down the line when Peña looked toward catcher Yainer Diaz.
“I was actually looking at it and it would have been a bang-bang play,” Espada said. “I personally think that … it’s the eighth inning, it’s the go-ahead run and maybe be aggressive and going after it. The ball was not hit hard enough and the angle where he was at, it would have been bang-bang. [The best play was] probably taking a shot because it was going to be the go-ahead run -- it’s not the tying run, it was the go-ahead run -- so maybe taking a shot and try to get that guy out.”
Peña fielded the ball cleanly and said when he looked up toward the plate that Butler was “almost there.”
“The play was to go home,” Peña said. “I looked up and saw he had a great jump. It’s a do-or-die play, so maybe I should have taken the chance at home. I feel like we didn’t have a play. I took the out at first. Heat of the moment, heat of the game, just trust your gut. That’s what I felt at the moment.”
Astros starter Hunter Brown took a no-decision after allowing one run on a homer in 5 2/3 innings of work. He gave up a two-out single in the sixth to Tommy White, which put runners at first and second and two outs.
Espada came out of the dugout and made a signal toward the bullpen, indicative of a pitching change. On the mound, Espada decided to keep Brown in the game to get the final out of the sixth, but the umpires wouldn’t let him because of his gesture in the direction of the bullpen.
“I, by accident, kind of pointed at the bullpen, which I did not know I did,” Espada said. “But when I looked at the video, it looked like I made kind of a motion toward the ‘pen, but my intention was … I never run out there to get the pitchers. I was just going to tell him, ‘Get this guy out, let’s roll.’ Then when I came back, I’m like, 'I did not motion.' The first-base umpire said that I did. I just went and looked at the video, and it looked like I did motion to the bullpen.”
It didn’t matter much, as AJ Blubaugh got the final out of the sixth and pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. Instead of letting Blubaugh pitch the eighth -- Espada said he wanted him available for Sunday -- he went to Sousa with Okert down. It didn’t work out.
“Sousa, good pocket for him,” Espada said. “Trying to save some of those guys for tomorrow and the long stretch that we’ve got ahead of us.”