Melvin hopes fallout with Astros is in past

HOUSTON -- A's manager Bob Melvin is hopeful that any leftover tension between his club and the Astros remains just that.

The two teams have engaged in a beanball war of sorts in the last week, with Houston apparently throwing at the A's on multiple occasions -- including Brandon Moss twice in one inning Friday -- before Oakland lefty Fernando Abad hit Jason Castro with a pitch in the bottom of the frame.

"It's gone on a little too long for everyone to be comfortable with," said Melvin, "and I wish we'd just move past it."

"It's pretty crappy when they hit our guys," Daric Barton said Friday night. "It's not the first time it's happened. When it happens over and over, it's obviously not unintentional. It is what it is, and it shouldn't go farther than that."

Houston manager Bo Porter, thrown out in the ninth inning Friday after arguing for Abad's ejection, was also asked Saturday about pushing the drama aside.

His response?

"It's baseball," said Porter, who offered the same remark when asked about the dangerous aspect of such affairs.

Questioned further, Porter said: "I worry about my guys every day, but I also have a job to do in protecting our guys and making sure that they know that they're protected."