Game #100: Pinder Power lifts A’s to another win over Astros

Grand slam fuels 5-3 victory

How hot are the Oakland A’s this month? It only took one swing of the bat for them to outscore the Houston Astros tonight.

The A’s got a grand slam from Chad Pinder in the 3rd inning and never looked back, holding onto that lead for an eventual 5-3 victory at the Coliseum.

*** Click here to revisit tonight’s Game Thread! ***

Oakland now has a 12-10 record in July, which is quite the turnaround after a 5-21 mark in June. Since the All-Star break last week, they’ve won five out of seven games on this homestand. And perhaps best of all, they’ve taken four of their last five meetings against the Astros, winning a series in Houston before the break and now clinching another series at home this week.

This latest victory was led by Pinder, who posted highlights on both sides of the ball. In addition to his slam, he also made an excellent defensive play at first base to squeeze the final out of the evening. The pitching staff stepped up too, limiting Houston to just two earned runs, and the bullpen was especially dominant in retiring the final dozen Astros batters in order.

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It took the A’s a minute to get going against Houston starter Luis Garcia, as they struck out five times in the first two innings alone. But they found their spark in the 3rd.

The rally began with an infield single, and then a pair of walks loaded the bases with two out. Up came Pinder, who saw a hanging breaking ball and pounded it 412 feet into the left field seats.

That was Pinder’s second grand slam this month, after hitting one in Arlington a couple weeks ago. He’s the sixth player in Oakland history to hit two slams in one month, per info manager Mike Selleck.

The last A’s batter to achieve that feat was Stephen Piscotty back in 2020, and he had a nice game tonight too. With the team clinging to a close lead, he doubled in the 6th inning but was stranded on base. Then he doubled again in the 8th, and this time Tony Kemp followed with another double to drive home Piscotty.

It was a valuable insurance run, even if they didn’t end up needing it when all was said and done.

More details coming, so keep hitting refresh!