Jacob Lopez gave the Athletics six innings they could build around Friday night at Sutter Health Park. By the time Houston's bullpen finished unraveling in the sixth, Oakland had a 6-5 win and Lopez had his seventh victory of the season.
Per ESPN's box score, Lopez (7-5) worked 6.0 innings, allowing two hits and one earned run with two walks and four strikeouts on 94 pitches. The Associated Press noted his only run came on Christian Walker's solo homer in the fourth, a no-doubt shot that briefly put the Astros ahead 1-0.
Six frames before the sixth exploded
Lopez kept Houston's lineup quiet through the middle innings while Hunter Brown matched him into the sixth. Brown (6-4) exited after a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one out, and the Athletics' bats finally broke through against the Astros' relief corps.
Pinch-hitter Michael Stefanic singled to center for two runs. Jonah Heim followed with an RBI single. Henry Bolte tripled to deep center, clearing two more, and Lawrence Butler's fielder's choice scored Bolte for a 6-1 lead. ESPN's scoring summary matches that six-run frame: Stefanic and Bolte with two RBI apiece, Heim and Butler adding one each.
Houston chipped away later. Cam Smith's solo homer in the seventh made it 6-2, and a three-run eighth - including a sacrifice fly, an RBI single, and a wild pitch - cut the margin to one. Luis Medina escaped the eighth, and Hogan Harris worked a hitless ninth for his 17th save.
