Take it to the limit: Astros rout A's, will determine playoff fate in season's final game

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Behind the three hitters who have carried their offense all season, and the right-hander who has buoyed their rotation since returning from surgery, the Houston Astros kept pace Saturday in an American League West race that will come down to the season’s final day.

With a 13-2 win over the A’s at Sutter Health Park, the Astros maintained a first-place tie with the Texas Rangers, against whom they hold the tiebreaker. Houston can clinch the division with a win Sunday, regardless of Texas’ result against the Twins, or if both teams lose in game 162.

ALSO SEE:What you need to know about Astros and game 162

Texas’ win Saturday went final before first pitch in West Sacramento, requiring the Astros to respond or risk entering the regular-season finale in dire position. They did, as starter Hayden Wesneski subdued the A’s offense and gave his own top-heavy lineup time to mount an onslaught.

Houston hit five home runs. Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes homered in the first three innings against A’s starter Jack Perkins to create a 3-0 lead. Wesneski limited a fourth-inning threat to a run. Yordan Alvarez blasted a three-run home run in the fifth to open up the type of wide advantage the Astros coveted.

It allowed more room for Wesneski to work. And he was highly efficient. The latter was invaluable for a team that has used its top three starters the past three days and has no obvious option for game 162. If the Astros have to rely on their bullpen Sunday, it will be rested thanks to Wesneski.

Wesneski worked seven innings on 82 pitches, allowing two runs. He threw 12 or fewer pitches in five of seven frames, regularly getting Houston’s offense back to work in a hitter-friendly minor-league ballpark. It was his third start of seven innings in 11 outings since returning from elbow surgery.

The Astros added on, as well, totaling 16 hits. Peña, Alvarez and Paredes combined for nine hits, scored eight runs and drove in eight. Peña finished 4-for-6 with a pair of two-run home runs. Jose Altuve drove in two runs, as did Lucas Spence, who hit his fourth home run of the series.

Ronel Blanco pitched the final two innings for Houston, preserving the rest of its relief corps for Sunday.

How did Hayden Wesneski pitch?

Wesneski recorded his first nine outs on 20 pitches, setting a tone. He worked five-pitch innings in both the second and third, with the A’s swinging early and putting the ball in play. Donovan Walton lined into a double play to end the second. Jonah Heim grounded into one to finish the third, with Altuve – whose drop on a possible double play Friday proved costly in a loss – executing a deft turn this time.

More infield adventures ensued in the fourth. Henry Bolte hit a leadoff single. Three of the next four A’s hitters bounced grounders to Peña at shortstop. The first yielded one out at second base. Peña bobbled the next, leaving two on with one out. A walk to Jeff McNeil loaded the bases. Peña took Zack Gelof’s grounder to second base himself, but his throw to first sailed wide.

It pared the Astros’ lead to 3-1. Wesneski kept it there by inducing a groundout from Walton with his 21st pitch of the inning. He did not allow another man into scoring position until the seventh, by which point Houston held an eight-run lead. He threw 71% strikes, started 21 of 27 batters with a strike and recorded 10 outs via ground ball, an enviable formula with the ball flying.

Wesneski posted a 3.25 ERA in 11 starts after joining the Astros’ rotation in late July. Houston went 8-3 in games he started, making the right-hander a critical element if this team does reach the postseason.

Feast or famine against Jack Perkins

Perkins, the A’s right-hander, entered with a 6.48 ERA in his 16 starts this season. He owned a 7.05 ERA in 60 innings at Sutter Health Park. The Astros did not dominate him. Perkins struck out nine and induced a career-high 22 whiffs on 47 swings. Three swings that did connect delivered the damage against him.

Paredes sent a cutter over the left-field wall in the first inning for his 25th home run of the season, raising his RBI total to 94. Just four AL hitters ended the night with more: Pete Alonso, Alvarez, Junior Caminero and Ben Rice. Paredes set a career high of 98 RBIs with the Rays in 2023.

Perkins induced eight whiffs on 13 swings against his sweeper. But he hung one in the third to Peña, who drove it 417 feet to center field for his 21st home run of the season. Peña was 1-for-10 over his previous two games since being hit on the right forearm by a pitch in Seattle.

Alvarez struck out in each of his first two at-bats against Perkins. He waved at a sweeper in the first and took one for a called third strike in the second. In the third, Perkins got ahead 1-2 and placed a sinker at the bottom of the zone.

It appeared to clip the bottom of the zone. But it was called a ball, and the A’s did not challenge. Perkins’ next pitch was a sweeper over the plate. Alvarez arced it 401 feet onto the grassy berm beyond the right-field wall, giving his club a five-run lead.

Yordan Alvarez keeps climbing

Barring an outrageous showing Sunday, it appears Alvarez will fall short of the Triple Crown. He leads the American League in batting average but trails Pete Alonso by one home run and eight RBIs going into the regular-season finale. That in no way diminishes the season Alvarez has authored.

Alvarez ended the night with a .316 batting average, 42 home runs and 105 RBIs. He leads all qualified major-league hitters in average, on-base percentage (.432) and slugging percentage (.604). His OPS of 1.036 is more than 90 points higher than the next-highest MLB hitter, Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Alvarez is tied for the fifth-most home runs in a season in Astros franchise history. Only Jeff Bagwell (47), Lance Berkman (45), Richard Hidalgo (44) and Bagwell (43) have hit more in a season. Alvarez surpassed his previous career high of 104 RBIs, which he set in 2021.

Alvarez will enter the season’s final day in position to become the third player in Astros franchise history to win a batting title, joining Jose Altuve – who has three – and Yuli Gurriel. He has a 10-point lead over the Rays’ Chandler Simpson among qualified AL hitters.

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This article originally published at Take it to the limit: Astros rout A’s, will determine playoff fate in season’s final game.