A’s Bounce Back, Take Second Game From Astros 6-5

The A's managed to take the second game of their four-game set with the Houston Astros on Friday night, squeaking by their division rivals 6-5 in convincing fashion to even this series up. Thanks to the Rangers' loss the Astros still remain tied for first place in the AL West. All that means is that the A's have more motivation to win all over again tomorrow. The A's will be the squad that sends a losing team to the postseason. Two more games left!

Taking the ball for the final time this season, left-hander Jacob Lopez entered tonight coming off of easily his worst career outing of his career (2 2/3 IP, 10 ER). That's put a bit of a damper on what has otherwise been a successful second half for Lopez, who as we all know lost his roster spot for a time before his recent reemergence. Ideally he wanted to end his season on a high note with a strong final outing at home in Sacramento against a division rival.

That's just what the A's got tonight. The lefty held Houston's formidable lineup down tonight, allowing just a couple of hits and a couple walks. Houston put two on in the second but Lopez squashed that rally before it began. The only damage done against him this evening was a solo home run off the bat of Houston first baseman Christian Walker in the fourth. Other than that the Astros couldn't push anything more across against a pitcher leaving it all on the mound before offseason.

Jacob Lopez: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 94 pitches

That's a fantastic way to end a season. Lopez came into tonight coming off the worst outing of his career and bounced back with one of his best of the season. He officially ends his season with a 5.47 ERA, though that doesn't do justice to how well he pitched in the second half. Baseball is a game of two halves though. It'll be interesting to see how the A's view Lopez over the offseason and heading into spring. Something to monitor this winter.

After the Astros took the early 1-0 lead the pressure was on the offense to back up their starter. The A's hadn't done much against Houston ace right-hander Hunter Brown , managing just a couple hits and four walks against him. They had chances in the second and third innings, getting a runner into scoring position, but wasted those opportunities.

Their fortunes would turn in the bottom of the sixth. Now much deeper into the game and likely tiring, the A's got to work. Jeff McNeil started things off with a leadoff single then found himself at second base after a Houston error put Gelof on behind him. Needing to cash in manager Mark Kotsay called for a sacrifice bunt from Donovan Walton , which he executed to perfection. This is where the game turned.

With a left-handed hitter in Carlos Cortes coming to bat Houston pulled Brown (at 100 pitches) for lefty relief pitcher Bennett Sousa . Kotsay countered by pitch-hitting Cortes with the righty-swinging Michael Stefanic . The game of chess worked out in Kotsay's favor tonight as Stefanic rewarded him with a two-run RBI single to take the lead:

And they weren't done there either. Rookie infielder followed with another single to put another runner in scoring position, and Jonah Heim delivered a third straight single to bring home Stefanic:

That made it 3-1 A's. And they still weren't done . Sensational rookie center fielder Henry Bolte was up next and all he did was swat a two-run RBI triple to make it 5-1:

Still not done, Lawrence Butler followed and grounded out to the first baseman. Bolte made the dash for home, the throw trying to beat him. Which made it there first? Take a wild guess:

What can't this kid do? If there's one positive from an otherwise down year, it's that the Athletics have their long-term answer in center field. And his name is just an addes bonus.

That six-spot in the sixth seemed like it would be more than enough for the Athletics tonight. However Houston wasn't ready to roll over just yet, not with the playoffs within their grasp. First they cut into the lead with a solo shot in the seventh to make it 6-2, then they rallied for three runs in the top of the eighth off Luis Medina. He's lucky he only allowed three as it could have spiraled way more out of control than it did.

Still, the A's had the lead heading into the ninth and turned things over to Hogan Harris , asking him for three more outs. He was more or less nails, allowing just a walk but promptly wiping him out with a groundball double play to end the game, securing his 17th save of the year.

Closer than it needed to be but still a solid win all around. Lopez dealt in his final appearance of the season and heads into winter on a high note. The offense meanwhile did its job without the long ball, again in large part thanks to Bolte. The bullpen was definitely shaky but they still held onto the lead and the A's came away with win #64. Thanks to Texas ' loss the Astros are still tied for first in the AL West at 79-81. That just means the A's will have to win again tomorrow.

We're down to our final two games of Athletics baseball this year! It's been a slog at times but we're all going to miss it in about a week, that's for sure. For now let's just soak it all up while we can. The third game of the series is tomorrow night. The A's are sending right-hander Jack Perkins to the mound for his final start of the 2026 campaign, like Lopez hoping to end his tough season on a high note. Houston meanwhile has yet to announce their starter so stay tuned there.