After our esteemed writer, Dan 410, called out manager Dusty Baker today for costly mistakes in constructing the lineup, apparently the old skipper took Dan’s expert advice. Following 410’s wise counsel, Baker put Chas McCormick in the lineup, whose two hits, including a homer, accounted for the winning runs in the Astros’ 3-1 win over the A’s in Oakland.
But on a night when Astros starter Cristian Javier had difficulty finding the strike zone the A’s scored first. After getting doubles with one out or less in the first two innings but failing to score, the A’s finally broke through in the fourth inning when Christian Pache singled home Elvis Andrus, who doubled with two outs.