Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
BY RICK PORCARO
Houston’s Jake Odorizzi pitched seven shut out innings, and Cal alum Korey Lee got his first three major league hits as the Astros downed the Athletics 6-1 Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum.
Odorizzi (4-2, 3.38) had his best outing of the season, spacing out four hits while striking out seven and only walking one batter to earn the win.
Houston’s Jake Odorizzi shut down the A’s on four hits over seven innings while striking out seven in the Astros 6-1 win against Oakland at the Coliseum.
The Astros jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead against Oakland starter Cole Irvin on the strength of an Alex Bregman double in the first to score Jose Altuve who had led off the game with a double two batters earlier. Despite his second solid effort of the week against one of the leagues most potent offenses, Irvin (3-7, 3.32) took the loss while only giving up two runs and five hits over six innings.
“It’s been a good year so far,” Irvin said. “There are some things that I need to pick up on the road a little bit. I love pitching at home. I’ve had a good run this year at home. The second half is where I’m going to improve and try to get a little bit better on the road. Make some better pitches. That’s what it comes down to. I’m making really good pitches here and missing one or two spots on the road. Just trying to improve that.”
As the afternoon progressed, it became obvious that Lee, the 32nd pick in the 2019 draft, would be enjoying a game that he will never forget. Starting just his second game in the majors after being called up last week, he laced an RBI single off of Irvin in the fifth for his first Major League hit before connecting for a two RBI double against Austin Pruitt in the seventh on the way to a three hit, three RBI day.
Korey Lee breaks his bat on a fifth inning RBI single for the first hit of his Major League career Sunday afternoon. Lee finished the day with three hits and three RBI’s in the Astros 6-1 win over the A’s.
The only real bright spot for the A’s was Vimael Machin’s eighth inning Home Run off of Phil Maton, the first of his career.
Following the game, the A’s departed for a six game road trip in Texas leading up to the All-Star break. Adrian Martinez (2-1, 6.00) is scheduled to take the mound for Oakland tomorrow night in Arlington against the Rangers Spencer Howard (0-1, 10.97) before the team heads to Houston on Friday for a three game rematch with the Astros to wrap up the first half of the season.
GAME NOTES:
Irvin’s 1.68 home ERA in eight Oakland starts ranks as the lowest among all AL starters.
The loss dropped the Athletics record to 29-58, a staggering 28 games behind the division leading Astros.
The A’s finished 3-3 on the six game home stand against Toronto and the Astros.
The Astros improved to a MLB best 23-10 in day games.
