HOUSTON (AP) — Shea Langeliers and Lawrence Butler homered, Nick Kurtz followed his historic four-homer game with two hits and the Athletics won their third straight game, beating the Houston Astros 5-1 on Saturday night.
A night after becoming the first major league rookie to hit four home runs in a game, Kurtz went 2 for 4 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. He’s batting .549 during the streak.
Langeliers led off the sixth inning by sending Bennett Sousa’s 3-2 fastball into the Crawford Boxes in lerft for his 16th home run of the season and a 2-0 lead.
With two on and two out and the A’s clinging to a 2-1 in the ninth, Butler launched a 1-2 fastball from Hector Neris 409 feet to right for his 15th home run.
The Athletics limited the Astros to four hits. Jacob Lopez went the first 4 1/3 innings without allowing a run. After Justin Sterner allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings, Sean Newcomb (3-5) struck out four while facing the minimum in the seventh and eighth. Mason Miller finished the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
Astros All-Star Hunter Brown (9-5) allowed one run on four hits over five innings, lowering his ERA to 2.54, but he failed to pitch into the sixth inning for the third straight.
Butler three-run homer in the ninth increased the A’s lead to four runs.
Houston’s opponents have scored first in a franchise-record 17 straight games.
Houston LHP Colton Gordon (4-2 4.53 ERA) was set to face RHP J.T. Ginn (1-2 4.50 ERA) on Sunday in the series finale.
___
AP MLB:
