The Houston Astros closed out their homestand on a rough note. After getting completely destroyed by the Angels, the A's then took two out of three.
Sunday's game wasn't as shocking as their final game against the Angels, but it was ugly in its own way.
The Astros managed to blow a 6-0 lead and lost 7-6. That is something that just cannot happen, and the organization knows it. They made significant changes as a result: Dana Brown was fired, and Joe Espada was given the choice to finish out the season or leave right away.
As of now, the Houston Astros do not have a single general manager. Brown's duties are transitioning to assistant GMs Charles Cook, Gavin Dickey, and Connor Huff, plus senior advisor Jeff Bagwell. Jim Crane will oversee baseball ops throughout the transition.
Joe Espada, on the other hand, decided to finish out the season.
Here is a breakdown of exactly how the Astros blew a 6-0 lead, leaving them with no official general manager.
The great start that wasn't enough:
Yordan Alvarez started his night on base, Jeremy Peña scored on Isaac Paredes' sacrifice fly, and Jose Altuve crushed a two-run shot into the Crawford boxes to cap a three-run first inning. In the second, Cam Smith, Alvarez, and Paredes all drew walks to load the bases, Paredes' coming on a pitch clock violation, before Altuve walked again to force in Cam Smith and make it 4-0. Then Paredes crushed a two-run shot, giving them some serious cushion and pushing the lead to 6-0.
Cristian Javier was the starting pitcher for Sunday's matchup. He was off to a great start, keeping the A's off the board for four innings. But a leadoff single and a walk in the fifth earned him a visit on the mound, and after the decision to keep him in, he gave up a three-run shot that cut the lead in half.
The A's were down on the board and should have been down in spirit, but after Javier gave up that three-run home run, things just unraveled for Houston.
The A's managed to drive in three more runs to tie things up in the fifth. Then Max Muncy hit a go-ahead home run to put the series to bed.
Back-to-back series losses for the Houston Astros in their own ballpark to the two worst teams in the AL West, and the entire league, for that matter. Two ugly losses like that lead to some changes in management, and that is exactly what is happening for the Houston Astros. Maybe some change is what they need to hold onto the division lead.
