Montas Reaches 200 Ks, A’s Pound First-Place Astros 14-2

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Frankie Montas pitched two-hit shot implicit 7 innings and became the archetypal Athletics pitcher successful 20 years to scope 200 strikeouts successful a season, helping Oakland lb the Houston Astros 14-2 connected Friday nighttime to enactment its slim playoff hopes.

Starling Marte had 4 hits and 4 RBIs arsenic the A’s snapped a four-game skid. Oakland began the time 4 games down the Yankees for the 2nd AL chaotic card, with the Mariners and Blue Jays besides successful beforehand of the A’s.

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Matt Olson drove successful 4 for Oakland. Chad Pinder added a pinch-hit expansive slam successful the seventh inning.

“I was conscionable trying to bid my pitches, deed my spots,” Montas said. “When guys are swinging and you deed your spot, it’s going to beryllium pugnacious for them to enactment a bully plaything connected the ball.”

Jose Altuve deed his 30th location tally for the Astros. Houston’s magic fig to clinch the AL West remains 3 implicit Seattle.

Astros pitcher Zack Greinke was scratched from his scheduled commencement and placed connected the 10-day injured database with cervix soreness. The 2009 AL Cy Young Award victor could instrumentality earlier the playoffs.

“You hatred to suffer particularly by a ample margin,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “They bushed america beauteous bully tonight.”

Two years aft serving an 80-game suspension pursuing a affirmative trial for performance-enhancing drugs, Montas (13-9) was ascendant portion helping the A’s stave disconnected elimination successful the AL West and preventing the first-place Astros from inching person to the part title. The right-hander allowed 1 run, had 8 strikeouts, walked 3 and deed 2 batters.

“It looked similar helium was successful power astir of the game,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “Fantastic to beryllium throwing that hard and beryllium this bully toward the extremity of the season. He had that look successful his oculus each crippled today.”

Montas had astatine slightest 1 strikeout successful each inning and pitched retired of a jam successful the seventh aft giving up a leadoff locomotion and single. He’s the archetypal A’s pitcher to person 200 strikeouts since Barry Zito had 205 successful 2001.

“That was 1 of my goals coming into the season,” Montas said. “For maine to beryllium capable to execute that is huge. I’m beauteous blessed close now.”

The A’s pitcher flashed immoderate nifty mitt enactment successful the seventh erstwhile helium made a behind-the-back drawback connected Martin Maldonado’s comebacker.

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“He’s 1 of the champion pitchers successful this league, positive helium fielded his position, which goes unnoticed,” Baker said. “He saved himself tonight, not lone pitching but connected defense, arsenic well.”

Yusmeiro Petit and Domingo Acevedo retired 3 batters apiece to implicit the two-hitter.

The Astros scored an unearned tally disconnected Montas successful the archetypal inning and went up 2-0 connected Altuve’s leadoff location tally successful the third.

The A’s took the pb with 3 runs disconnected fill-in starter Brandon Bielak (3-4) successful the third, past broke the crippled unfastened with six runs successful the seventh and 5 successful the eighth.

Pinder’s location tally disconnected Brooks Raley was Oakland’s archetypal pinch-slam since Scott Sizemore had 1 against Texas successful 2011.

Bielak, chiefly a agelong reliever with 1 commencement this season, allowed 3 runs and 4 hits successful 3 innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: Yordan Alvarez was Houston’s DH aft being pulled from Wednesday’s crippled and not playing Thursday due to the fact that of wide soreness. … RHP Peter Solomon was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land to instrumentality Greinke’s spot connected the progressive roster.

Athletics: 2B Josh Harrison near the crippled aft fouling 2 balls disconnected his near limb successful the seventh inning. Harrison finished the at-bat earlier being taken retired successful betwixt innings.

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Astros LHP Framber Valdez (11-5, 3.07 ERA) has won his past 2 starts and is looking to marque up for a unsmooth commencement against Oakland successful July erstwhile helium allowed 10 hits and 5 earned runs successful 5 innings. Athletics LHP Sean Manaea (10-10, 4.05 ERA) is winless successful 4 starts against Houston this season.