Zack Gelof went deep twice Thursday night and still walked off Sutter Health Park on the wrong side of a 7-5 score. The third baseman's two solo homers were the Athletics' loudest answers in a loss to the Houston Astros that kept Oakland's September grind going.
Per the CBS Sports box score, Gelof finished 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBI, two home runs - his 21st and 22nd - and a walk. The Associated Press noted his first homer gave the Athletics a 4-3 lead in the third, and his second in the eighth pulled Oakland within 6-5 before Houston added one more.
Back-to-back swings that flipped the third
Houston had jumped ahead 3-0 in the second on a three-run homer by Lucas Spence, the first of three Spence would hit in his first career multi-homer game after a Wednesday call-up, per the AP. The Athletics answered in the third: Jonah Heim walked, Shea Langeliers singled, and Jeff McNeil launched a three-run homer to right-center that tied it 3-3.
Gelof followed immediately with a solo shot to center for a 4-3 Oakland lead.
That lead lasted until the sixth, when Isaac Paredes tied it with a solo homer. Spence's second homer in the seventh put Houston back in front 5-4. Christian Walker's 27th in the eighth made it 6-4 before Gelof's second solo shot of the night - to left-center - cut it to 6-5. Spence's third homer in the ninth set the final at 7-5.
A loss that still featured Oakland's best bat
Mason Barnett started for the Athletics and worked a career-high six innings, allowing four runs on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts. Scott Blewett (2-2) took the loss after surrendering Spence's go-ahead homer in the seventh. Miguel Ullola (2-0) earned the win with three scoreless relief innings for Houston; Bryan Abreu finished for his ninth save.
Lawrence Butler went 3-for-5. McNeil finished with the three-run shot and a double. Henry Bolte went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. The Athletics totaled 11 hits; Houston had 10 and five home runs as a club.
Oakland fell to 63-96. Houston moved to 79-80, tied with Texas atop the AL West with three games left and holding a 9-4 season-series edge over the Rangers.
Gelof's night was a two-homer card in a loss - the third-inning lead creator and the eighth-inning reply that kept the Athletics within a run until Spence's final swing. For a club playing out September in West Sacramento, those were the individual peaks on a night the Astros' power outlasted them.
Left-hander Jacob Lopez (6-5, 5.68) is scheduled to start Friday's series rematch against Houston, which has not announced a starter. Gelof's two-homer line is the Athletics' clearest individual stamp from a 7-5 defeat that still featured McNeil's three-run shot and a brief lead in the third.
Sources
CBS Sports
