Correa belts 2, Astros 28 over as Yanks visit
HOUSTON -- The Astros continued their dominance of the A's on Thursday afternoon, getting a pair of two-run homers from Carlos Correa and five innings of one-run ball from starter Brad Peacock to win the series finale, 6-1, at Minute Maid Park.
The Astros (54-26) beat the A's for the 17th time in their past 19 meetings, and they have won eight of 10 overall heading into a weekend series against the Yankees in Houston. They are 28 games over .500 for the first time since late in the 2001 season.
Peacock (5-1) needed 106 pitches to finish five innings, issuing six walks to go with seven strikeouts. He allowed a run in the fourth before Correa hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning off Oakland starter Daniel Gossett (1-3), who allowed five runs in five-plus innings. Correa had a 435-foot blast, according to Statcast™, off the batter's eye in center field in the sixth that made it 5-1.
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"That opposite-field home run was only topped today by the top of the batting eye," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "We haven't seen but two or three balls go up there all season. His strength was on display today, his at-bats are a must-watch."
Though the A's dropped the final two games in Houston, they left with a 4-2 record on this road trip, improving to 13-27 away from the Coliseum.
"We'll take it," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "Hopefully that's something to build on, and we'll have more confidence going into Seattle [next week], knowing we played better on the road."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Two for the Showrrea: Gossett had sent down 11 of the first 12 batters he faced before Correa walloped a 3-2 pitch with two outs in the fourth and sent it into the Astros' bullpen in right-center for a two-run homer that put Houston ahead, 2-1. That extended Correa's streak of reaching base safely to a career-high 17 consecutive games. He hit another two-run homer in the sixth.
"Obviously a breakthrough to get the first of two home runs from Correa," Hinch said. "It gave life to our dugout again. We had been dragging because we couldn't get anything started." More >
Great escape: The A's had a chance to pounce on the Astros when they loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth. After allowing singles by Ryon Healy and Matt Olson and walking Josh Phegley to load the bases with no outs, Peacock struck out Jaycob Brugman and got Adam Rosales to hit into a fielder's choice that pushed home a run. He got Franklin Barreto to fly out to right with the bases loaded for the third out.
"We were lacking one or two big hits, and obviously they came away with a couple big hits of their own, and Correa had a phenomenal day," said A's outfielder Matt Joyce, who robbed a home run away from Reddick in the first inning.
"It was a good game for [Peacock] to get through five innings," Hinch said. "It was a grind for him. You look up at the end of the day, he had a really good day. It was just difficult for him to get his rhythm and get his timing."
QUOTABLE
"I don't want to brag or be too confident because I don't want to flip the script and have the baseball gods come down on me." -- Reddick, who's hitting .538 with four doubles, a triple, two homers, eight RBIs and 12 runs scored since being activated from the DL on June 20
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Astros' Major League-leading 128 homers are second-most in franchise history prior to the All-Star break. The 2001 team hit 134 in the first half.
WHAT'S NEXT
A's: The A's will return to Oakland for a six-game homestand, beginning Friday with an Interleague matchup against the Braves. Right-hander Sonny Gray, who tossed seven innings of one-run ball in his last start in Chicago on Sunday, will be on the mound in the 7:05 p.m. PT opener at the Coliseum.
Astros: Lance McCullers makes his second start since coming off the disabled list when Houston opens a three-game series against the Yankees at 7:10 p.m. CT Friday at Minute Maid Park. McCullers held the Yankees to four hits in six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts earlier this year in New York.
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