OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics have had a decided home-field advantage against most teams they have faced at Oakland Coliseum this season.
Then there are the Houston Astros.
Houston improved to 5-0 against the A’s at the Coliseum on Wednesday night with a 5-1 victory, the Astros’ ninth consecutive win in Oakland. The A’s haven’t defeated Houston at the Coliseum since July 19, 2016, when they needed 10 innings for a 4-3 win.
The Astros have won the first three games of the series and will go for a sweep on Thursday afternoon.
“I think it comes and goes,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said before Wednesday’s game. “Not too long ago, we would come to this place and something crazy would happen and they would win a lot of close games. I don’t really have the answer, other than we’ve played well against them in the last stretch.
“But we’ve got a few games in this ballpark before the season ends. We’ve got to keep playing well, keep putting pressure on them. We’ve played from ahead a lot, which is good, a good way for us to win because our ‘pen’s pretty good.”
The Astros took a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning Wednesday, then rolled to their 14th victory in the past 15 games between the two teams.
A’s right-hander Jesse Hahn will make his 12th start of the season when he faces Astros rookie right-hander David Paulino in the series finale Thursday.
Hahn (3-4, 3.56 ERA) is 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA in three starts since returning to the rotation after a stint on the disabled list with a strained right triceps.
“I feel good about everything,” Hahn said. “I feel confident right now. Every start I’m just looking to go out there and build and put
zeros on the board. That’s just my mindset right now: Try to go out there and win.”
Hahn is 1-3 with a 6.05 ERA in four career starts against the Astros. He took the loss in his lone start against them this year, a 7-2 defeat on April 30 at Houston. He gave up four runs (three earned) on eight hits over six innings, striking out six without issuing a walk.
Hahn is well aware of the challenge he faces against an Astros team that has George Springer, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa at the top of its batting order.
“They’re incredible,” Hahn said. “They have a great team. Those guys are so good at the top of their lineup. They make that team so much better. I think you have to try to do as best you can to keep(Springer and Altuve) off base at the same time. One of them is OK, but when they both get on base, they’re very dangerous.
“They like to run, they like to hit and run. And then you’ve got Correa and other guys coming up after them that also have power. For me, you’ve got to try to limit the top of the order from getting on base.”
Paulino, a 6-foot-7 Dominican Republic native, is coming off his first major league victory, in his fifth start and seventh appearance. He allowed one run on three hits over six innings in a 7-1 victory against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday at Minute Maid Park. Paulino, 23, struck out four and walked one.
“He looked great,” Astros catcher Brian McCann said. “For somebody that tall to have four pitches, what stands out to me most is how he can control (them). He pounds the strike zone.
“When you have his kind of stuff and you can locate, there’s no reason he can’t build off that. I think the more experience he gets, the better he’s going to be.”
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