Game Thread 145. Sept. 9th, 2019, 7:10 CDT. A’s vs Astros

It was a total smack-down last night. The Astros scored three touchdowns while holding the hapless Mariners to one run as Gerrit Cole one-hit the M’s.

After the Baltimore game in which the Astros scored 23 runs, the bats went silent for a while. Will history repeat itself?

Zack Greinke (14-5, 3.09 ERA) takes the mound for the Astros, opposed by former Astro Mike Fiers (14-3, 3.51 ERA).

The A’s are 9.5 games behind the Astros for the lead in the AL West. No doubt, they are hoping for a sweep in this four game series, which would bring them to within 5.5 games of first. Even if that unlikely outcome occurred, it would still be an uphill climb for the A’s with only 18 games remaining in the season.

More realistically, the A’s are fighting to maintain their position as the second team in the Wild Card standings, or possibly getting the home field advantage in the Wild Card from Tampa Bay.

Meanwhile, the Astros are in a struggle for home field advantage in the AL playoffs with the Yankees, with whom the Astros are tied, and even home field advantage for the World Series. The Astros are currently one game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have the best record in the NL.

Here is today’s Astros lineup.

For more on this game and the series go HERE.