OAKLAND, Calif. — Paul Blackburn has been the Athletics’ most consistent starting pitcher this season, but even he couldn’t prevent a 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros Monday at the Coliseum.
The A.L. West leaders, behind left-handed starter Framber Valdez, shut down the A’s offense one day after a season-high 14 hits against Texas.
It was Blackburn’s first loss of the season after five wins and came before a Memorial Day crowd of 8,753. He pitched respectably but gave up a season-high four earned runs. Valdez, in improving to 5-2, threw the first nine-inning complete game of his career. He allowed just two hits and five baserunners, walking three and striking out seven while throwing 114 pitches.
The A’s had won eight times in Blackburn’s previous nine starts.
Houston, 31-18, got two gargantuan home runs from Yordan Alvarez, his 13th and 14th, and one from Jose Altuve, his 10th. The A’s fell to 20-31 and 10-20 in May, a month which has seen them drop to the bottom of the division standings.
The two home runs by Alvarez totaled 913 feet in distance and with exit velocities of 113.9 and 110.1 miles per hour. The first came off Blackburn, the second off A.J. Puk.
Blackburn’s day ended after 6 2/3 innings on a play in which a Chad Pinder throwing error at first resulted in a collision at first base between Altuve and Christian Bethancourt.
Both players remained in the game as Puk came on in relief.
After five hitless innings, Kevin Smith doubled to lead off the sixth, pulling up slightly and leaving the game with an injury in favor of runner Seth Brown.
The A’s got on the scoreboard when Ramon Laureano beat the Houston shift and drove a ground single to right center, scoring Brown.
The Astros extended their lead to 4-0 against Blackburn in the fifth inning. Jose Siri was hit by a pitch with one out, stole second and scored on a jam-shot single to left by Martin Maldonado.
Altuve was next, drawing the usual chorus of boos that have followed him since the Houston sign-stealing scandal of 2019. The boos were silenced momentarily when Altuve hit a two-run home run to right center, with the ball barely clearing the fence.
Blackburn had given up just one home run in his previous nine starts before Valdez connected in a big way leading off the fourth inning.
The ball landed above the suites in right center field, 469 feet away — tied for the second longest home run in the majors this season behind a 472-foot blast by the Angels’ Mike Trout.
It was Alvarez’ third career home run against Blackburn in nine at-bats.
