Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals wasn't the only Bay Area-Houston matchup on Tuesday night.
The Oakland Athletics play their home games in Oakland Colliseum, nestled right next to Oracle Arena, the home court of the Golden State Warriors.
But in the baseball matchup between Houston and Oakland, it was Houston who came away with the win. The Houston Younglings--er, Astros--bounced back from having their five-game winning streak snapped on Monday night with a 6-4 win over their divisional foes, improving to 26-14 on the season.
The game was eventful early on. In the top of the second inning, Brett Lawrie hit a double, but Oakland rookie Max Muncy was thrown out at home trying to score thanks to a great, quick pick up and throw by centerfielder Jake Marisnick. The next hitter, Sam Fuld, dribbled an infield single to the right side, but the A's would have a runner thrown out at home again! First baseman Chris Carter flipped the ball to starter Roberto Hernandez, who then fired home to throw out Lawrie, who was trying to score from second base.
The second inning didn't bode well for Oakland. In the bottom half, Chris Carter launched his seventh homer of the year to left field, putting the 'Stros up 2-0.
Josh Reddick would get a run back for the Athletics in the top of third, driving in Marcus Semien with a double to right. But, Houston would answer with another run in the fifth inning with an Evan Gattis RBI single. Max Muncy hit his second career home run in the sixth inning to make it 3-2, but the A's would never lead on Tuesday.
The Astros have relied on the longball all season, leading the Majors in home runs and averaging 1.425 per game as a team. In the eighth inning, the story was the same. Colby Rasmus followed a Jake Marisnick walk with his eighth homer of the year. Two batters later, catcher Jason Castro smacked his fifth dinger of the season to right, and the Astros were up 6-2 headed to the ninth.
Houston would win, 6-4, as Luke Gregerson was rescued by Pat Neshek, who wiggled out of trouble to secure his first save of the season. Roberto Hernandez got the win for the home team, finishing with a line of six innings pitched, seven hits allowed, two runs, two walks, and three strikeouts. Tony Sipp and Chad Qualls pitched an inning of shutout ball each as well.
For the A's, Sonny Gray had an uncharacteristic outing, only lasting five innings and allowing seven hits and three runs while also walking three. Oakland's bullpen also gave up three runs. Even with the loss, Gray's ERA is still locked at a sweet 1.92 on the season, but the A's need contributions from elsewhere if they want to improve their measly 14-27 record.
Tomorrow afternoon, the A's and Astros will play the rubber game of their series as Jesse Hahn (1-3, 4.42 ERA) takes the hill for Oakland against the Houston's Dallas Keuchel (5-0, 1.87 ERA).