HOUSTON – Gage Jump didn’t have eye-popping strikeout numbers, but he gave the A’s what they needed on Sunday – another good outing.
Jump threw 6 1/3 shutout innings and Nick Kurtz and Brent Rooker each homered as the Athletics beat the Astros, 5-0, at Daikin Park to salvage one game of the three-game series.
“The game plan today was attacking them over and over again,” Jump said. “I thought [catcher] Shea [Langeliers] did a great job of helping me trust him and relax.”
Jump scattered two hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Jump retired 11 straight batters at one point and had only four runners reach scoring position.
Jump, the A’s No. 3 prospect, built on his last outing on June 2 where he surrendered one run in seven innings for his first career MLB win against the Cubs. He was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas on May 26.
“Just another solid performance,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “Following the Cubs outing, to piggyback another good one, that’s just a great sign from a young starter that is really showing us confidence in terms of just getting into games, being able to get outs quickly. To get into the seventh inning today, I thought was exceptional. Not a ton of punchouts, but to manage the game the way he did was great.”
Nearly half of the Jump’s 96 pitches were four-seam fastballs (47), but he used the slider (24), changeup (11), sweeper (8) and curveball (6) effectively.
"The fastball was really good,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “There's some jump on you. He did a nice job of hiding all his pitches, kind of the arm slot. They had a tough time picking his stuff up. I thought he threw the ball pretty well. That's a pretty good arm. I think the deception is what made him very tough today to handle."
The rookie left-hander got eight whiffs on 30 swings with the fastball and was able to get two swing and misses with the slider. Overall, he got 12 whiffs on 51 swings.
“I think it’s just the mentality and mindset of going straight after them,” Jump said. “I know the stuff plays, and whether I give up a hit or a home run, a double, just keep going.”
He also got a lot of soft contact, with the Astros registering six hard-hit balls and an 85 mph average exit velocity.
“It’s really impressive, but the game in some ways doesn’t reward that,” Kotsay said of the soft contact. “I love it, personally. I think that is pitching. It’s an art. It’s a craft that in some ways is lost because everybody wants strikeouts, but when you go out and give your team 6 1/3 scoreless innings, the soft contact I think is just as valuable.”
It was the A’s first shutout since a 1-0 win at the Mets on April 12 and their fourth shutout victory this season.
After scoring three runs over the first two games of the series, the A’s got to Houston starter Mike Burrows in the third for three runs on a two-run homer by Kurtz and a Rooker RBI double.
Rooker added a solo home run to left in the fifth, his tenth of the season. Lawrence Butler had two hits for his first multihit game since April 20.
“Rooker’s day, let’s talk about that,” Kotsay said. “This guy has been grinding. He’s had some bad luck. He’s one of our guys. To see a good day from him, it’s really encouraging. Hopefully, we can continue this, but our offense is generally built around home runs, and today we hit a couple that really helped us win the game.”
Rooker finished the three-game series 4-for-11 and has hit four of his 10 home runs this season against the Astros.
“Productive day,” Rooker said. “I’ve been working hard, so hopefully, taking a few steps in the right direction and getting back to being productive.”
The A’s finished their six-game road trip against the Cubs and Astros 3-3 and snapped a three-game losing streak that started by blowing a 6-1 lead late in Chicago on Thursday.
“The Cubs loss late, any time you lose a game like that, there could be some lingering effects,” Kotsay said. “Obviously, the last two days we got beat. Today to come back, rebound and have a .500 road trip says a lot about the club.”