Colby Rasmus made a triumphant return from the disabled list and Evan Gattis blasted a home run in support of Colin McHugh, who pitched six scoreless innings in the Houston Astros 3-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park.Rasmus, sidelined since August 5 following surgery to remove a cyst in his right ear, smacked his 13th home run and added his 17th outfield assist while Gattis blasted his 22nd home run to carry the Astros (70-62) to a series victory over Oakland (57-75).McHugh (9-10) outdueled Athletics right-hander Kendall Graveman (10-9), who lost for only the third time in his last 12 decisions.
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Joe Musgrove bounced back after two frightful outings, and the Houston Astros’ offense did the rest Monday night.
Jose Altuve homered, Joe Musgrove and three relievers combined on a four-hitter and the Houston Astros beat Oakland 6-0 on Monday night. In seven innings, he allowed four hits and three earned runs, but gave up two long home runs in the process. He had given up 14 runs and 23 hits in his previous three starts.
“I thought I could’ve been a little bit better”, Graveman said. “The last couple outings I found myself trying to pace myself trying to get to the seventh”.
“It’s about as good a feeling as you can have being a baseball player”, Rasmus said. “He came out really aggressive which is an adjustment for him to match quantity of strikes with quality”.
Houston remained two games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild card.
Athletics: LHP Sean Manaea (left rhomboid strain) will likely miss his next start, manager Bob Melvin said. The left-hander was replaced by Chris Smith.
Oakland (57-74) has been besieged by injuries, using the disabled list a club-record 27 times this season.
“It was a foul tip, but I have to stop the ball there”, Maxwell said. “Already been on the DL once and to me it just feels like I’m letting everyone down”.
“Every game, he goes out there and he’s close to completing a game”, Melvin said. It has been disappointing for him, as he’s hitting just.211/.286/.352 through 368 plate appearances across 90 games.
Altuve hit his second homer in two games to lead off the sixth and extend Houston’s lead to 3-0. Alex Bregman hit a two-run single and Carlos Correa had an RBI single as part of a three-run seventh.
Oakland would cause Mike Fiers some trouble in the second inning. Danny Valencia has hit McHugh well, he is 6-for-17 with two doubles and a home run. Muncy scored on a groundout to shortstop by Marcus Semien. To make room on the roster, INF Arismendy Alcantara was optioned to Class A Stockton. He is listed as day to day. With starters Sonny Gray (strained right forearm) and Jesse Hahn (strained right shoulder) now on the DL, the Athletics have been forced to fill the void with relievers making spot starts.
Astros: OF Colby Rasmus (cyst in right ear) was scheduled to work in the outfield, do some baserunning and also take batting practice, Hinch said, adding they will determine afterward whether to activate Rasmus on Tuesday or Wednesday or wait until the Texas series over the weekend.
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The Houston Astros are surging at the right time and seek their ninth win in 11 games when they host the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday for the middle contest of their three-game set. He is going for his third straight win but has struggled against the Rangers this season, going 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA in four starts.
