Game #154: A’s thump Astros 14-2

That felt good

The postseason might be out of reach for the Oakland A’s, but they still put on quite a show Friday night.

The A’s demolished the Houston Astros in a 14-2 rout, ending Oakland’s losing streak and taking the first step toward preventing Houston from celebrating an AL West division title at the Coliseum this weekend.

*** Click here to revisit tonight’s Game Thread! ***

So that’s where all the runs were hiding. The A’s had their Wild Card hopes dashed this week when they were swept by the Mariners, scoring only 10 times in four games. Tonight against the Astros, they eclipsed that total in just the 7th and 8th innings combined.

Houston took an early 2-0 lead with runs in the 1st and 3rd against starter Frankie Montas, then never found the plate again. Oakland responded with three in the bottom of the 3rd to take control, and the score remained 3-2 for a while. In the bottom of the 7th, the A’s exploded for six runs, capped by a pinch-hit grand slam from Chad Pinder, and just for good measure they rallied for five more in the bottom of the 8th including a bases-clearing double by Matt Olson.

The victory comes too late to save the postseason standings, but it sure does feel good to blast the division’s juggernaut on the way out the door. Even if it was basically a bullpen game for the Astros, as starter Zack Greinke was a late scratch. Don’t be a buzzkill. Oakland scored 14 runs against the Asterisks.

More details coming. Keep hitting refresh!