Athletics Capitalize, Take Third Straight from Astros

The Athletics celebrate Lawrence Butler's home run against the Astros

Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

July 26, 2025

Athletics 5, Astros 1

HOUSTON (July 26) — There was no letdown for the Green and Gold after Nick Kurtz’s legendary Friday performance, as clutch pitching and capitalization on opponent errors led the Athletics to a 5–1 Saturday evening road win over the Houston Astros. The win gives the Athletics their third straight win and pulls them to 4–5 on their three-city, ten-game post-All-Star road trip.

Starting pitcher Jacob Lopez held the Astros scoreless but only lasted 4 1/3 innings. Justin Sterner, Sean Newcomb, and Mason Miller pitched a combined 4 2/3 innings of one-run relief to finish off the first-place Astros.

Athletics – Astros Game Summary

The Athletics opened the scoring in the top of the first after a one-out Brent Rooker double scored Kurtz from first. It became a 2–0 game in the sixth with a leadoff homer by Shea Langeliers. The Astros cut the deficit to 2–1 in the bottom of the sixth when a Chas McCormick sacrifice fly scored Christian Walker. In the ninth, the Athletics finished the game’s scoring on a three-run homer by Lawrence Butler.

What Went Right for the Athletics

Early Lead

For the second night in a row, the Athletics led before their pitcher even took the mound. And for the third night in a row, the Athletics scored first.

Defense

In the bottom of the first, the Astros had runners on the corners with two outs and Chas McCormick batting. He attempted a squeeze play, placing the bunt in a great spot halfway between the mound and the third-base line. Langeliers, the catcher, hustled to scoop it up and made a strong, accurate throw to nab the speedy McCormick by less than a step and end the inning.

Center fielder Lawrence Butler made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Cooper Hummel of an extra-base hit on the last out of the fourth.

Shortstop Max Schuemann made a slick play with one out and a runner on first in the bottom of the eighth. Yainer Diaz hit a sharp grounder to Schuemann’s left. Schuemann sprinted to his left, scooped it up, and made a step-on-the-bag-and-throw to narrowly retire both the runner at second and the hustling Diaz.

Clutch Late-inning Relief

Newcomb faced the minimum six hitters across the seventh and eighth to protect his team’s one-run lead. He struck out the side in order in the seventh. “Heater, heater, slider,” Newcomb said of the first at-bat in the seventh. “Then the second one — that was a good one for me. (Zack) Short missing a couple of heaters felt good. Gave me some confidence there. And then I was able to finish some guys with what ‘they’ call the slurve, but I call it a slider. It was good to get some of those.”

In the eighth, Newcomb struck out the leadoff man, Jose Altuve, before issuing a walk to Christian Walker. However, the next batter, Diaz, grounded into a double play, rendering the walk moot. “I had a good feeling going into Diaz that he’d be aggressive. Had been blowing a lot of four-seamers that inning, so I hit him with a sinker for the rollover.”

When Newcomb entered the game, his goal was to put up a zero, especially given that he gave up a solo homer in his last appearance. “I was feeling pretty jumpy, so I wanted to get on the attack, fill up the zone, and put the pressure on them with it being the bottom of the lineup. So I feel like I did a pretty good job with that.”

“95, 97 against this lineup,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “The ball was really coming out of his hand well. That was the reason I sent him back out for the eighth. … (It) gave us the best chance to get through that section of the lineup.”

Capitalized on Crucial Opposing Mistake

Max Schuemann reaching on Astros shortstop Zack Short’s error in the top of the ninth opened the door for the Athletics to pad their 2–1 lead, and they pounced on the opportunity. Capped by Lawrence Butler’s three-run blast, the score quickly became 5–1, and the Athletics cruised the rest of the way.

What Went Wrong for the Athletics

Inefficient Starting Outing

The only real concern came from starting pitcher Jacob Lopez taking 95 pitches to get through 4 1/3 innings. He held the Astros scoreless, but Lopez did not like how long it took for him to get his opponents out.

“Definitely not ideal,” Lopez said. “Made life hard on myself. That’s how it was in Texas (against the Rangers), also. But we won. I kept the team close, 1–0. (Sterner) came in, got a huge out, Newcomb came in, and Mason (Miller), so the bullpen picked it up big again. Just gotta get to work and try to figure out how to be more efficient.”

Quick Hits

With his run in the first inning, Kurtz became the first Athletics player to score seven runs in a two-game span since Jason Giambi in 2000. (Hat tip: Martin Gallegos, MLB.com)

Looking Ahead

Sterner (3–3) earned the win in relief as Brown (9–5) took the loss. There was no save.

The Athletics (45–62) and Astros (60–45) will complete their four-game series Sunday afternoon. Right-hander J.T. Ginn (1–2, 4.50 ERA) will start for the Athletics against Astros left-hander Colton Gordon (4–2, 4.53 ERA). First pitch will be at 1:10 pm Central/11:10 am Pacific.