WEST SACRAMENTO.
Nick Kurtz played the hero for the
second consecutive day, hitting a
home run in the ninth inning that sealed the victory for the
Oakland Athletics 3-1 over the Houston Astros this Monday night, in an exciting match held at
Sutter Health Park.
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Kurtz, who had already decided Sunday's game with another home run in the ninth, repeated the dose against Dominican reliever
Bryan Abreu (1-3), sending the ball
447 feet to right field to unleash the madness among the local fans.
“I'm focused on helping the team and making the most of every at-bat. It doesn't matter if it's in the first or the ninth,” Kurtz said after being showered by his teammates.
The inning began with a walk to
Brent Rooker, who extended his streak to
12 consecutive home games reaching base, setting the stage for Kurtz's decisive hit, his
seventh home run of the season.
The Athletic, on the rise
With this victory, the
Athletics string together four consecutive wins and improve to
7-4 in their last 11 games, a significant rebound after having lost 20 of the previous 21.
In the mound, opener
Mitch Spence delivered a solid performance of five innings, allowing seven hits and one earned run. The relief pitching was also key:
J.T. Ginn struck out the three batters he faced in the eighth and
Mason Miller (1-2) earned the win by closing the ninth with a pair of strikeouts.
Stars snap winning streak
The
Astros (38-32), who were coming off winning five straight games and 16 of their last 22, fell short this time despite a great performance by rookie
Ryan Gusto, who struck out eight and allowed only one earned run in five innings, covering for the absence of
Lance McCullers Jr., recently placed on the injured list.
The only Houston race was possible thanks to an offense contained by Oakland's pitching staff, which maintained control throughout the game.
Next Commitment
The series will continue this Tuesday with the second game in West Sacramento, where the Athletics will seek to continue consolidating their good moment against an Astros team that will try to recover.
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