An unusual light filled the Oakland Coliseum Wednesday evening. An orange haze that wasn't sunny, a type of daylight that wouldn't require sunglasses.
Under a disorienting dome of smoke unlike anything seen in the Bay Area before, the A's and Astros played a tense came that came down to Ramon Laureano's walk-off hit in the ninth inning, completing a late comeback and the A's 3-2 win. The A's are 5.5 games up on the Astros in the AL West.
Jesus Luzardo's fourth pitch of the game nearly did him in. He might not want to take it back, though, it was a decent fastball in a 2-1 count. But it lingered just a bit George Springer's wheelhouse _ he cranked it 107 mph.
The A's left-hander wouldn't allow another run until the sixth inning, when Yuli Gurriel blasted Luzardo's changeup into left field.
Those were the only two runs Luzardo would allow, otherwise he was in his element. Save for the offering to Gurriel, Luzardo's changeup was near un-hittable. Despite giving up a smattering of loud contact, Luzardo kept the Astros at bay. He struck out seven through a seven innings on four hits. His last batter, Martin Maldonado, struck out looking at a 95 mph sinker.
Luzardo left his longest career start with an underserved loss potentially on his shoulders. Astros starter Luis Garcia was cutting right through the A's offense in his first big league start. He was drawing tons of weak contact, holding them to just one hit _ a Matt Olson single _ through five innings.
But the Astros' have a tendency to walk a few batters, and that trend caught up to them in the seventh inning. Astros reliever Cionel Perez walked Vimael Machin, which brought right-hander Josh James into the game. Sean Murphy battled through an eight-pitch at bat, working a walk.
Tommy La Stella, who's quickly stepped in as one of the A's strongest hitters, flipped a pitch into shallow left field. Kyle Tucker couldn't quite find it, and the ball deflected off his glove, and then bounced off his foot. That allowed Murphy to score from first to tie the game, gave La Stella his third double with the A's and got Luzardo off the hook.
