OAKLAND — The Athletics hoped to assert themselves against the upper echelon of the American League but instead found themselves back at .500 following a 4-2 loss to the Houston Astros before a crowd of 9,675.
Sean Manaea, pitching at the Coliseum for the first time since his no-hitter on April 21, did not last six innings and saw his record fall to 4-4. The Athletics, 18-18, hope to avoid a sweep Wednesday against Houston, as well as salvage a winning record on a brief homestand which began with a three-game sweep of Baltimore.
Houston chased Manaea in the fifth inning as Yuli Gurriel hit a one-out double, and after Alex Bregman lined to third, Marwin Gonzalez singled to left to drive in Gurriel to make it 4-2.