ALDS: A’s lose to Astros in Game 1 as crucial error, bullpen role reversal prove costly
The Oakland A’s were on the wrong side of a role reversal in Game 1 of the American League Division Series as the Houston Astros rallied to win 10-5 on Monday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
The A’s otherwise staunch bullpen blew a sixth-inning lead.
Houston’s young and shaky bullpen shut down any concept of a comeback as the A’s suffered their eighth consecutive loss in the first game of a postseason series dating to 2006.
The turning point came on a costly error from Marcus Semien’s error on what should have been Josh Reddick’s inning-ending groundout. The sixth-inning misplay turned into a four-run rally that gave the Astros a lead they wouldn’t surrender.
All four of the unearned runs fell on J.B. Wendelken’s shoulders, who couldn’t close the flood gates after the error. Houston racked up the go-ahead runs on four hits from Martín Maldonado, George Springer, Michael Brantley and José Altuve.
Houston’s bullpen suffered through growing pains this year, amassing a 4.39 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. The staff was lights out Monday, pitching five scoreless innings to pick up McCullers.
In the postseason, they’ve dealt 14 scoreless innings and allowed three hits.
Perhaps it was the hot air and outward wind blowing at Dodger Stadium aided contact, but the AL West foes were seeing home runs off some of the game’s most elusive pitchers.
The A’s have struggled mightily against offspeed pitchers this season, their .180 average against them ranked third-worst in Major League Baseball. But they were seeing Lance McCullers’ Jr.’s devastating changeup well Monday.
Khris Davis got the scoring started with his second home run of the postseason, a two-run shot off a first-pitch sinker. The next inning, Sean Murphy roped a changeup into deep center field for a solo shot to give the A’s a 3-0 lead.
Chris Bassitt, who was 4-0 with a 0.53 ERA and .230 opponents batting average over his last five starts dating back to Sept. 7, made one mistake too many. He left a curveball and sinker over the plate for Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa, who tied the score 3-3 with a pair of home runs.
Matt Olson hit the game’s fifth home run to begin the fourth inning, giving the A’s a one-run lead.
A handful of scoring opportunities to break the game open fizzled, though. The biggest: After Olson’s home run, Davis and Robbie Grossman were stranded when the bottom of the order couldn’t scratch one across in a no-out opportunity.
Correa milked his second home run of the game, a solo shot dagger to center in the seventh off Lou Trivino, that widened Houston’s advantage to 8-5. The shortstop held a hand to his ear while passing the A’s dugout as an apparent acknowledgment of the comments he made after sweeping the Minnesota Twins in their wild-card series.
“I know a lot of people are mad. I know a lot of people don’t want to see us here. But what are they gonna say now?” Correa said after the sweep.
The Astros collected 16 hits on Monday and the 10 runs allowed tied for third-most in franchise history for a postseason game.